Camino San Salvador and Primitivo: The Actual Numbers

Before I left, I planned the San Salvador as five stages averaging around 24km a day. That plan lasted about as long as plans usually do on a Camino. I walked it in four days instead of five, then turned onto the Primitivo and proceeded to string together a 48km day and a 52km day back to back. Here's what actually happened, stage by stage, with the elevation profiles to go with it.

A quick note on the numbers: these are reconstructed from my own trail notes and public route data, not a GPS track, so treat them as a close approximation rather than a survey.

The day-by-day breakdown

Stage	Route	Distance	Overnight
San Salvador, day 1	León → La Robla	27km	La Robla
San Salvador, day 2	La Robla → Poladura de la Tercia	25km	Poladura de la Tercia
San Salvador, day 3	Poladura de la Tercia → Campomanes	29km	Campomanes
San Salvador, day 4	Campomanes → Oviedo	42km	Oviedo
Primitivo, day 1	Oviedo → San Xoán de Villapañada	33km	San Xoán de Villapañada (donativo)
Primitivo, day 2	San Xoán de Villapañada → La Espina	23km	La Espina
Primitivo, day 3	La Espina → Borres	28km	Borres
Primitivo, day 4	Borres → Berducedo	25km	Berducedo
Primitivo, day 5	Berducedo → A Fonsagrada	48km	A Fonsagrada
Primitivo, day 6	A Fonsagrada → Lugo	52km	Lugo
Primitivo, day 7	Lugo → Ferreira	26km	Ferreira area
Primitivo, day 8	Ferreira → Salceda	40km	Salceda
Primitivo, day 9	Salceda → Santiago	26km	Santiago

That's 424km by my own count across 13 walking days. Call it 450 once you add in the detours, the wrong turns, and the lap I did around the top of Lugo's Roman wall just because I could.

San Salvador: León to Oviedo in four days, not five

The full story of these four days is in The Camino San Salvador: Four Days of Empty Mountains. The short version in chart form:

Day 1: León to La Robla, 27km. A gentle warmup, mostly flat with one steady climb.

Day 2: La Robla to Poladura de la Tercia, 25km. This is where the mountains start for real.

Day 3: Poladura de la Tercia to Campomanes, 29km. The planned two-day crossing of Puerto de Pajares, done in one, starting before dawn.

Day 4: Campomanes to Oviedo, 42km. What was meant to be two easier days became one long one into the cathedral city.

Primitivo: fog, mountains, and two brutal closing stretches

Days 1 through 3 are in Camino Primitivo: Fog, Eucalyptus, and a Vanishing Pilgrim.

Primitivo day 1: Oviedo to San Xoán de Villapañada, 33km. Fog, eucalyptus, and a ridge before the drop into Grado's valley.

Primitivo day 2: San Xoán de Villapañada to La Espina, 23km. Technical, wet single-track through most of the middle.

Primitivo day 3: La Espina to Borres, 28km. Tineo marks the last flat ground before the Hospitales route.

Days 4 and 5, the Hospitales route and the long push into Galicia, are in The Hospitales Route: A Full Moon and 48km to Fonsagrada.

Primitivo day 4: Borres to Berducedo, 25km. The approach to the Hospitales high route.

Primitivo day 5: Berducedo to A Fonsagrada, 48km. The Hospitales high point, a dam crossing, and the border into Galicia, all in one day.

Days 6 and 7, into Lugo and its Roman walls, are in Lugo's Roman Walls and the Long Push South.

Primitivo day 6: A Fonsagrada to Lugo, 52km. The longest day of the whole trip, and one of the gentlest in profile.

Primitivo day 7: Lugo to Ferreira, 26km. A short recovery day after back-to-back mega-stages.

Days 8 and 9, the final push to Santiago, are in The Last Tunnel: Walking Into Santiago on the Primitivo.

Primitivo day 8: Ferreira to Salceda, 40km. Through Melide and Arzúa, where the Primitivo joins the Frances.

Primitivo day 9: Salceda to Santiago, 26km. The last tunnel, then the cathedral.

What the numbers actually tell you

Two things stand out looking back at this next to the plan. First, the San Salvador compresses easily if you're feeling strong. I turned a five-day plan into four days without ever feeling like I was forcing it, which tells you the original stage breakdown is built for caution, not for pace. Second, the Primitivo's back half is where the real distance hides. The guidebooks split Fonsagrada and Lugo into more conservative stages for a reason, and I'd think harder about doing 48km and 52km on consecutive days again, mostly for my feet's sake rather than my legs.

If you're planning your own version of this route, mycaminoguide.com is built for exactly this kind of stage-by-stage question. And if you want the rest of this series as it goes up, hit subscribe.