Overview: Camino del Salvador (from León) to Oviedo
A route through the Cordillera linking León to Oviedo.
Introduction: The route is an ancient one. When the Moors swept northwards through Spain, many of the holy relics from religious communities in the south were sent northwards for safety. Many of them ended up in the Catedral del Salvador in Oviedo. No doubt promoted by the authorities there, pilgrims were encouraged to think that they should first visit the Cathedral of Our Saviour in Oviedo before travelling onwards, usually by the Camino Primitivo, to Santiago.
There are still sound reasons for doing this in order to avoid the overcrowding of the Camino Francés, particularly in the stages beyond León, and Oviedo is a very interesting town which is well worth visiting. This overview is best read in conjunction with Piers Nicholson's set of 300 pictures , which also contains some further explanations and a diagrammatic map of the section of the Camino crossing the Cordillera
The route: The route is some 120 km. long, and starts from León followins the east bank of the Rio Benesga. For the first 40 km as far as Buiza, the Camino follows the river valley, and is fairly flat, mainly on paths or very minor roads. There are a number of small towns. The next 25 km cross the Cordillera to Pajares village in Asturias, and has two quite substanital ascents and descents. You are recommended to refer to stage 2 of the website for details of this stage. There is then a further steep descent to San Miguel del Rio, followed by a mostly fairly flat section through some more substaintial towns on the way to Oviedo.
Planning your Camino: The refugios are, however, not ideally spaced for walking this in manageable stages, since they are at 41, 74, 97, 111, and 130 km. from León. There is other accommodation available along the route, but this again is not ideally located. The second stage from Buiza over the Cordillera mountains to Pajares is 33 km. and we would strongly recommend starting it from Buiza, since the path is steep and stony, so it is difficult to make good time.
If 41 km of fairly level walking seems too much, good alternatives are to spend half a day sightseeing in León, and then walk to Cascantes, which has 4 buses a day to and from León. So it is possible to get a bus back to León that night and then get a bus out again in the early morning to start walking to Buiza. Another alternative is to sleep in one of the many hostals in La Robla (likely to cost around €20) or in Pola de Gordon.
Waymarking: Generally good, except for the second part of the crossing of the Cordillera where it appears to be almost non-existent. The first 50 km are waymarked with the brown marker posters of a consortium of local authorities (the Cuatro Vallees) often accompanied by small signs pointing in the same direction and marked "Rodiazmo" and a few yellow arrows.The middle 20 km are almost devoid of waymarks (mid-2008; later details would be appreciated) The last 50 km are waymarked with concrete marker posts with the blue-and-white stylised shell markers like those in Galicia, with more yellow arrowns.
Weather/When to go : The weather in the province of León is very hot in July and August, and generally similar to that on the Camino Francés. The weather for the crossing of the Cordillera is highly variable, and you need to be prepared for sudden changes of weather, which may include thick fog, heavy rain and severe cold. In particular, the weather on the Asturias side of the Cordillera can be very different from the weather on the way up in León.
Where to stay. León and Oviedo are large cities with a wide range of accommodation including a refugio (though the refugio in Oviedo is very small, so you have to get there early to get a bed). La Robla, Pola de Lena, and Mieres are towns with hostals and other accommodation. There is some accomodation in Pola de Gordon. There are refugios at Buiza (40 km from León, but note that you need to shop for food in Pola de Gordon), Pajaares village (65 km), Pola de Lena (83 km), la Pena near Mieres (102 km). The only accommodation between Buiza and Pajares is the Hostal Golprjar between Villamarin and Villanueva de la Tercia on the N-632; this has rooms above a good restaurant. Some sources say there is accommodation at Sta Maria de Arbas and at the summit Puerto de Pajares, but in 2008 this was not true.
Guide books and pictures: We have now (December 2009) put an on-line guide to this route on to this website. There is also a small leaflet obtainable from the tourist office in León, and the tourist office in Mieres will give you a photocpy sheet entitled "Camino de Santiago". The most reliable information is the website (in Spanish) of the Associacion Astur-Leonesa de Amigos del Camino de Santiago and the picture website (in English) of Piers Nicholson who walked this Camino in 2008 and wrote this overview. The first has some useful diagrammatic maps and links to Google Earth - however, the routes shown crossing the Cordillera do not appear to be waymarked (2008). The second has a diagrammatic map of the Coridllera crossing which is believed to be accurate at the time of writing. More information on this section of the route would be very much appreciated.
Diary: If you intend to walk this route, we recommend Laurie Reynold's excellent diary below.
Discussion Forum: Visit the Camino de Santiago Forum to join in the current conversation
Language. It is helpful to speak a little Spanish, particularly if you need to ask for directions in the section crossing the Cordillera.
List of places en- route:
Leon
Carvajal de la Legua
Villabura
Cabanillas
La Robla
Puente de Alba
Peredila
Nocedo de Gordon
Pola de Gordon
Beberino
Buiza
Hut at roadside where the routes divide
(Direct route probably with poor waymarking) Pobladura de la Tercia
(route via N-630)Rodiezmo
(join N-630)Villanueva de la Tercia
Busdongo
Sta. Maria de Arbas (direct route joins N-630, and said to continue on off-road camino to the east)
Puerto de Pajares (off-road camino said to cross from west to east just below here)
Pajares (routes join) (New refugio)
San Miguel del Rio
Llanos de Somerón
Puente de los Fierros
Campomanes
Vega del Rey
Vega del Ciego
Pola de Lena
La Vega
Villallana
Ujo
Mieres del Camino
Puente de Parra
la Pena
Rebollada
Copián
Padrún
Ollonlago
Venta del Aire
Caxigal
Oviedo
Pictures: The picture pages of the Camino now cover this route.
Many thanks to Piers Nicholson, January 2009