Wandelgids Santiago de Compostela - The Northern Caminos | Cicerone

Three different pilgrimage routes through northern Spain to the sacred city of Santiago de Compostela: the Camino del Norte (a 790km five-week coastal route from Irun), Camino Primitivo (which splits from the Norte at Sebrayo for the next 320km) and the Camino Inglés (a five-day 87-km route from Ferrol). Lots of advice and information. This is a meticulously detailed yet handy guide to the pilgrimage routes that lead through northern Spain to the sacred city of Santiago de Compostela, with stage-by-stage descriptions to all routes. The Camino del Norte is an 817km five-week coastal route from the town of Irà ºn, near the French border. This route follows relatively flat terrain through quiet coastal villages. It is the most heavily frequented of the Northern Caminos, attracting two or three times as many pilgrims as the Primitivo.    One alternative is the Camino Primitivo, which splits off from the Norte at Sebrayo, near Oviedo, for the next 355km. This route cuts inland through the Cordillera Cantabrica and includes some significant ascents and descents.      The second alternative is the Camino Inglés, a five-day 116km-route from the city of Ferrol on the north-west coast. A much shorter route, this camino is still long enough to meet the requirements of the Compostela – that the last 100km of your pilgrimage to Santiago is completed on foot.      For many modern pilgrims, the walk does not end in Santiago de Compostela. Instead, they are drawn still father to the west, as far as the land will permit. They walk the Camino Finisterre, a three-day extension route from Santiago to the west coast.    Although the Camino Francés is often referred to as the Camino de Santiago, it is actually, along with these Northern Caminos, part of a network of routes. As the Francés is so popular, however, the Northern Caminos offer ideal conditions. They are popular enough to offer sufficient facilities, clear waymarking and a community of pilgrims, while plentiful cheap accommodation along the way means no need to race for a bed.    detailed colour maps and stage-by-stage route description plenty of advice including recommended gear and information on every pilgrim hostel an extensive glossary of key words in English, Spanish and Euskara descriptions of the many historic shrines, churches, towns and cities visited

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