25,5 kmDistance+560 mAscent−690 mDescent31,1 kmEffort9 h 42Time needed · On foot
From San Salvador to the Nalón
The Camino Primitivo begins in Oviedo, in the square in front of the cathedral of San Salvador, and it is worth setting off in daylight through the streets of the old town to see where it all started. The stage covers 25.5 kilometres with 560 metres of ascent and 690 of descent, moderate difficulty: not a hard day, but long for a first one, with a couple of climbs you will feel under a freshly loaded pack.
Leaving the city takes a while, through suburbs and residential areas, until the route turns into a track and climbs through Loriana to the Alto del Escamplero, the high point of the day and the first place with a bar. From there it runs through the hamlets and valleys of the municipality of Las Regueras, among meadows and farmsteads, with short ups and downs on paved lanes and the odd dirt path.
The second half drops towards the Nalón valley. You cross the river on the bridge at Peñaflor, medieval and many-arched, and a few flat kilometres beside the road bring you to Grado. It is a town with everything you need to sleep and eat, and a market known throughout the district.
Tips
Get a stamp at the cathedral or the tourist office before you leave: it is the departure stamp for the stage and the first one on your parchment.
Have breakfast in Oviedo and fill your bottle: there is nothing certain before the Escamplero, and after it the hamlets have fountains but few bars.
It is the first stage and a long one: no need to rush. Stop at the Escamplero and again in the hamlets before dropping to the Nalón.
Almost all of it is paved track. Look after your feet from day one and adjust your pack in the first hour, which is when you notice what you are carrying that you do not need.
Where am I?
Your phone says where you are; the guide tells you how far is left and where the next water is.
Your position is used to answer you and is not stored anywhere.
Walk with me
It crosses where you are with the time, the daylight left, the water, the beds and the notice board. Three things at most: the ones that actually change your afternoon.
112 is the same number in Spain, in Portugal and across the European Union. It works with no credit, with no SIM, and over any operator's network, not just yours.
Say where you are
I am walking the Camino Primitivo, on the stage from Oviedo to Grado.