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Stage guide · Holy Year 2027
About 310 km from Oviedo cathedral: the route King Alfonso II followed in the 9th century to visit the Apostle’s tomb. Asturian mountains, forests, the Palo pass and the Salime reservoir, and in Galicia the Roman walls of Lugo, until it joins the Francés at Melide.
Work out your Camino
Move the slider to your pace. Suseia then splits the route into stages based on the albergues in each town, and you can adjust them by hand.
Each dot is a day of walking to Santiago.
The route at a glance
The ranges of western Asturias, with their summer pastures and hórreos, the Palo pass and the great Salime dam. Then the Lugo mountains of A Fonsagrada, the walls of Lugo and the hamlets to Melide.
Stage by stage
The usual split, via Pola de Allande. At Borres you can take the Hospitales Route, higher and lonelier. From Melide the path is the same as the Francés.
Real mountains: valleys, ranges, the Palo pass and the descent to the Salime reservoir. Hard stages and few services.
You enter over the Alto do Acevo to A Fonsagrada. The Lugo hills, the walled city and hamlets until you join the Francés at Melide.
Distances are approximate: they can vary by a kilometre or so depending on the variant you take.
When to go
May to October. Summer is mild in the mountains and it is when every albergue is open.
In winter it can snow on the Palo pass and the Alto do Acevo, and the Hospitales Route is dangerous in fog or snow. Check the weather before you climb.
2027 is a Holy Year. The Primitivo is still quiet, but its albergues are small: in high season book wherever you can.
The Compostela
To get the Compostela you must walk at least the last 100 km. Lugo is just about 100 km from Santiago: the perfect starting point, and you set off from a city whose Roman walls are a World Heritage Site.
It is five stages: San Romao, Melide, Arzúa, O Pedrouzo and Santiago.
Start with the Lugo – San Romao da Retorta stage →Common questions
About 310 km from Oviedo to Santiago.
It is the most mountainous: several stages have more than 800 m of climbing. In good shape and without rushing, it is hugely enjoyable.
A variant that climbs from Borres past the old pilgrim hospitals, above 1,000 m. It is very beautiful, but has no services and is dangerous in bad weather.
Choose where you start and how many kilometres you want to walk each day. Suseia builds your plan all the way to Santiago, free and without signing up.