The Pilgrims' Trail to Santiago de Compostela is one of the great historical 'long distance foot paths' through Europe. According to legend, it all began in the 9th century when the bones of the apostle St. James, murdered in Palestine, miraculously appeared in a village in what is now Galicia. Word spread round the Christian world, reaching (among others) King Alfonso II of Asturias. He undertook the pilgrimage - journeying through dark woods and daunting mountains, from Oviedo via Lugo to Santiago - and invited fellow kings and nobleman to follow in his footsteps. This 'original' route became very popular in the early Middle Ages, when areas south of the Cantabrian Range were continuously at war. Walked by millions of 'peregrinos' over the centuries, the walk reveals the beautiful natural settings, captivating historical monuments, gorgeous rural farmland and authentically friendly villages of Northern Spain. Near Lugo, the 'Camino Primitivo' joins the more popular French route. In the company of an expert guide we have the option to walk the last few kilometres, to enter the city of Santiago de Compostela on foot.
Brief Itinerary
| DAY 1 |
Arrive Oviedo |
| DAY 2 |
Walk through the Asturian countryside and transfer to Cornella Monastery and our castle hotel in Salas (5.5hrs) |
| DAY 3 |
Walk to Tineo, visit monastery of Obona and continue to Villaluz (5.5-6hrs) |
| DAY 4 |
Transfer to Borres following the original high "ruta de los hospitales" and transfer to Pola de Allande (5.5hrs) |
| DAY 5 |
Descend to village of Villapedre and cross lake of Salime to our hotel (5hrs) |
| DAY 6 |
Transfer to Galicia & walk across high pastures & heather fields to Paradavella (6hrs) |
| DAY 7 |
Follow quiet lanes past traditional buildings to Gondar, transfer to Lugo, where the Camino Primitivo meets the classic French route (6.5hrs) |
| DAY 8 |
Drive to Monto del Gozo for our first sight of Santiago, walk with other pilgrims to the St James Cathedral (1hr) |
| DAY 9 |
Trip concludes |
Trip Notes
Inclusions
*8 breakfasts, 8 dinners *8 nights 2-4 star hotels on a twin share basis with ensuite facilities *English speaking driver / guide throughout, walking largely self guided with maps and notes supplied *internal group transfers by private vehicle
AIRFARES
World Expeditions has competitive airfares to get you to the starting point of your chosen adventure. CONTACT US for a full quotation including airfares, stopovers and any additional travel you wish to organize pre or post tour.
INFO NIGHTS
World Expeditions hold informative and inspiring info night presentations covering all of our adventures and journeys across the globe. CLICK ON THE INFO NIGHTS AND EVENTS TAB AT THE TOP OF OUR WEBSITE and join us for an informative evening in a location near you!
Now there are 3 ways you can book your next World Expeditions adventure.
1. online
You are now able to book your trip online!
First, search our website to find the trip you are interested in.
Then, click the 'Dates & Bookings' tab to check availability. If a trip is available click 'Book Now'.
If a trip is 'Closed' or 'Limited' contact us to speak with one of our consultants to check the availability of your preferred departure.
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2. phone
If you would like to speak with a Reservations Consultant, call World Expeditions on 0800 0744 135 (during office hours 9am - 5.30pm Mon - Fri) or email us: enquiries@worldexpeditions.co.uk
Complete your details and fax or post to your nearest World Expeditions office along with your non-refundable deposit of £250 per person per trip, or 25% per person for Antarctic, Arctic and Russian Far East tours (or USD$1500 on the Polar Pioneer or the Ushuaia).
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3. in person
You can also take your booking in person to our office or to a World Expeditions office.
Download our booking form so you'll know what information we need to process your booking.
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What happens after I book?
Receive your pre-departure information
On receipt of the booking form, we will confirm your booking by phone and our reservation staff will post to you a comprehensive Pre-Departure Kit. This kit will contain all necessary pre-departure information pertaining to your country including visa information, insurance information, a medical and personal details form, comprehensive gear list, discount vouchers for gear, our award winning Responsible Travel Guidebook as well as other information tailored to your adventure.
We can also handle your extra arrangements
World Expeditions is a licensed travel agent and we are able to handle every aspect of your booking from issuing travel insurance, booking your flights, stop-overs and other travel related services. Our reservation staff are eager to help so please do not forget to include any extra arrangements that you may need.
Note: If you cannot download this Booking Form contact your nearest World Expeditions office on and we will post, email or fax you a copy.
World Expeditions
World Expeditions is one of the world’s leading adventure travel companies offering ground breaking itineraries on every continent. The company has been operating small group trekking and adventure travel holidays and vacations since 1975.
We are widely recognized for ground breaking Responsible Tourism initiatives. In particular, the award winning Community Project Travel Program helps to improve the living conditions of some of the world’s most remote communities
Today, with offices around the globe, we offer more than 500 stand alone itineraries; small group active adventures and expeditions, cycling and walking tours and cultural journeys. Each itinerary has several scheduled departure dates throughout the season.
Supported by some of the world's most experienced and respected adventurers, including mountaineers Peter Hillary and Tim Macartney-Snape working with us as specialist guides, World Expeditions’ has helped shape the adventure travel industry standards since its inception almost four decades ago.
Our all-inclusive, no hidden extras pricing policy combined with longer, creative itineraries and the use of quality ground services attracts people who have high expectations of their travel experiences.
In 2004, we became the first adventure operator whose product was being distributed on Lonely Planet’s Travel Services section on their website.
World Expeditions is truly global company with offices in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, as well as Auckland, Ottawa and Montreal.
Why Travel with World Expeditions?
We own most of our operational bases around the world. This ensures that we can provide high quality trips of exceptional value with no hidden extras. Our trips are all inclusive, so there is little need to pay for anything once your trip commences until it ends. Our hands-on approach and years of experience has ensured a safety record second to none as we’ve pioneered some of the most unique itineraries in the adventure market place today.
World Expeditions has been seriously committed to responsible travel and true sustainability since we began in 1975 when we established our philosophy and stated ideal which was to “take only photographs and leave only footprints”.
Almost four decades of pioneering adventure travel has proved the positive conservation outcomes when travel is managed for sustainability. We believe a responsible, long-term vision can deliver true sustainability and with the participation of all our clients and business partners the challenge is being met and achieved.
An example of this commitment to sustainability has been our efforts to preserve the forests of Nepal. This has involved changing an entrenched culture of burning wood for fuel. World Expeditions has pioneered the change to kerosene as an alternative to wood on all trekking expeditions in Nepal. We do not have camp fires and we strongly discourage trekkers from buying wood-fueled hot showers in lodges along the trail. As a founding supporter of the International Porter Protection Group (IPPG) we also lead the way in porter protection by providing a good working wage for all Nepalese staff, food and extra clothing for those working above the tree line, life insurance cover and emergency helicopter insurance. Our efforts were recognized at the World Travel Mart in 2006 when our porter policies received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Mountain Environment category.
Our philanthropic program ensures we ‘give something back’. Our current initiative is Community Project Travel. The concept behind our Community Project Travel range of trips is based on the ethos of “travel with a purpose”. It is a range of small group adventures, each about two weeks in length, whereby participants commit four to five days of their holiday to making a difference to a community in need. A portion of the traveller’s participation fee contributes to the associated material costs of the project. In 2006 our travellers helped to refurbish the Saramthali school in Nepal, collected 7 tonnes of ghost nets from the Arnhem land coastline, helped to build a new school room for the Xo village in Vietnam as well as erect a footbridge for the village of Qelqanqa in Peru so that kids could access the school safely.
In recognition of our environmental policies, we are the only Travel Company ever to be fully endorsed by the Wilderness Society in Australia. In 2001, we received the National Travel Industry’s Environmental Achievement Award, presented by WWF Australia, for our responsible tourism policies.
In addition, we create excellent adventures! Our trips have featured in the world’s most prestigious magazines and newspapers including: OUTSIDE magazine, both National Geographic Adventure & National Geographic Traveler magazine, Wanderlust, The Sunday Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Age, The Sunday Telegraph (UK) plus much more. Use the search widget top left of each webpage to browse our adventures, browse our Regions Of The World or Types Of Adventures pages for details of all our adventures.
