Grandas de Salime to A Fonsagrada
Border
- Distance
- 26.3 km
- Climb
- 950 m up, 580 m down
- Ground
- 480 to 1,030 m
- Time
- 7 to 9 hours
- Difficulty
- hard
- Underfoot
- mountain, dirt, forest, paved
Where this day sits on the Camino Primitivo
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 11 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
Today you cross from Asturias into Galicia. The border is unmarked except for a small stone post on a high ridge. There is no town, no festival, no bridge — just a quiet moment when the language people speak in the next farmhouse will be different. The climb out of Grandas is sustained, and once in Galicia the rain becomes more likely. You enter A Fonsagrada in the late afternoon, a small Galician town at 965 m sitting on a hilltop. The legend says a pilgrim once asked for water at a fountain here, the fountain ran dry, and the pilgrim turned out to be the Virgin Mary. The town is named for the 'Sacred Fountain' the Virgin restored. Whether you believe it or not, the fountain is still here, still flowing.
What pilgrims often meet here
- Walking past the small stone marker that marks Asturias-Galicia
- The first time you hear Galician spoken as a daily language
- The legend of the sacred fountain told by an A Fonsagrada local
- Finding the rain feels different in Galicia — softer, more constant
What changes when you cross a border that has no fence?
The ground
Crosses the Asturias-Galicia border. Steady climb out of Grandas de Salime to the Alto del Acebo, then descent into Galicia and another climb into A Fonsagrada at 965 m. The border crossing is unmarked except for a small stone marker.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Grandas de Salime depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
Pilgrim doesn't carry the Camino Primitivo as a route yet. You can still walk it with the app in Wander mode, speaking what arises and keeping it on your phone.