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<\/figure>\n\nThe Primitive Way originates in the 9th century, in the year 814. Following the discovery of the Apostle’s tomb, King Alfonso II “the Chaste” began a journey from Oviedo to verify the find and order the construction of the first church. <\/p>\n\n
In this way, Alfonso II “the Chaste” became the very first pilgrim of this itinerary. Over time, when the capital was moved to Le\u00f3n, the monarchs favored the French Way across the plateau for logistical and commercial reasons. <\/p>\n\n
Route, Distances, and Kilometers: Where Does It Start and Where Does It Go?<\/h2>\n\n
This route begins at the Cathedral of San Salvador in the city of Oviedo and advances southwest through the interior of Asturias. In terms of planning, the walking route is structured into 13 or 14 stages. <\/p>\n\n
- \n
- Stage 1<\/strong>: Oviedo – Grado (26 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 2<\/strong>: Grado – Salas (23 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 3<\/strong>: Salas – Tineo (20 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 4<\/strong>: Tieno – Pola de Allande (28 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 5<\/strong>: Pola de Allande – La Mesa (23 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 6<\/strong>: La Mesa – Grandas de Salime (17 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 7<\/strong>: Grandas de Salime – A Fonsagrada (28 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 8<\/strong>: A Fonsagrada – O C\u00e1davo (23 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 9<\/strong>: O C\u00e1davo – Lugo (30 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 10<\/strong>: Lugo – San Romao de Retorta (20 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 11<\/strong>: San Pomao de Retorta – Melide (28 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 12<\/strong>: Melide – O Pedrouzo (33 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 13<\/strong>: O Pedrouzo – Santiago de Compostela (20 km)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
What are the infrastructures and hostels like on the Primitive Way?<\/h2>\n\n
On the Primitive Way, you will find a limited network of services that are concentrated only in the main towns, so it is essential that you carry water and food supplies for the stages. Furthermore, on this route, the availability of lodging in public and private hostels in Asturias is sufficient and increases upon reaching Galicia. <\/p>\n\n
For cyclists, it is recommended to book private accommodation in advance, since public hostels give bed priority to those who are on foot.<\/p>\n\n
Places and monuments of the Primitive Way<\/h2>\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/456-1024x576.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\nOn the Primitive Way, you are going to find a spectacular cultural heritage that combines Pre-Romanesque art, rural Romanesque art, and great civil works. These are the main monuments you cannot miss: <\/p>\n\n
- \n
- Cathedral of San Salvador and Mount Naranco (Oviedo)<\/strong>: This is the starting point of the Camino. This Cathedral is the ultimate representation of Asturian Pre-Romanesque art. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Monastery of San Salvador de Cornellana<\/strong>: A magnificent monastery, key to the Asturian section.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Collegiate Church of Santa Mar\u00eda la Mayor (Salas):<\/strong> A mandatory architectural stop during the early stages of the Camino.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Grandas de Salime Reservoir<\/strong>: The descent toward this hydraulic engineering work offers one of the most striking landscapes of the mountains and the Primitive Way.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Roman Wall (Lugo)<\/strong>: Entering Galicia through the gates of this 3rd-century wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site with its perimeter perfectly preserved.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ethnographic architecture<\/strong>: Throughout the entire itinerary, you will see a traditional evolution from the Asturian h\u00f3rreos and paneras (raised granaries used to isolate harvests from moisture) to the circular Galician pallozas of Los Ancares, built to withstand the snow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is the Primitive Way? The Primitive Way is a Jacobean route of approximately 320 kilometers that connects the Principality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sin-categorizar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2852,"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851\/revisions\/2852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcaminoapedales.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Monastery of San Salvador de Cornellana<\/strong>: A magnificent monastery, key to the Asturian section.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 2<\/strong>: Grado – Salas (23 km)<\/li>\n\n\n\n