Alfonso II, nicknamed "the Chaste," was not merely a pious king making a devotional journey. He was staking a political claim. By traveling to venerate the relics and building the original shrine over the discovery site, he was establishing Santiago de Compostela as a center of Christian authority in a peninsula still largely controlled by Muslim powers to the south. The pilgrimage served both faith and statecraft. The route Alfonso took from Oviedo -- the capital of the small Christian kingdom of Asturias -- followed existing Roman and pre-Roman roads westward through mountain passes before dropping into the river valleys of Galicia. It would remain the most-traveled path to Santiago until the Kingdom of Leon established its capital farther south and opened the flatter, safer French Way across the meseta.

At approximately 320 kilometers, the Camino Primitivo is shorter than the French Way's 738 kilometers, but the terrain makes up the difference. The route crosses the Cantabrian Mountains through passes that climb above 1,000 meters, with significant daily elevation changes that turn what would be a gentle walk on the meseta into genuine mountain hiking. The compensation is the landscape. Where the French Way crosses the broad, often-arid interior of Spain, the Primitive Way moves through green valleys, chestnut forests, and high pastures grazed by cattle whose bells are the soundtrack of the Asturian countryside. The views from the mountain sections -- back toward the Bay of Biscay to the north, forward toward the rolling hills of Galicia to the west -- are among the finest on any Camino route.

The route begins at the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo, where pilgrims have traditionally started their journey. Oviedo itself is worth the stop: the cathedral houses the Holy Chamber, a pre-Romanesque structure containing relics that drew medieval pilgrims from across Europe. From Oviedo, the path heads west through the Asturian countryside, climbing into the mountains before descending to the walled city of Lugo. The Roman walls of Lugo -- a complete circuit of fortification that is itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site -- mark the transition from the mountainous Asturian section to the gentler Galician hills. From Lugo, the last 100 kilometers to Santiago are shared with the French Way, joining it at the town of Melide for the final two days of walking.

In 2024, about 24,400 pilgrims completed the Camino Primitivo, making it the fifth most popular route to Santiago. Nearly half were Spanish, followed by Italians, Americans, and Germans. Most started from Oviedo, with about a third beginning in Lugo for the shorter 100-kilometer section that qualifies for the Compostela certificate. These numbers are significant but modest compared to the French Way, which draws hundreds of thousands. The Primitive Way's appeal lies precisely in this relative quietness. Pilgrims seeking solitude and physical challenge -- or simply wanting to avoid the crowds on the French Way's final stages -- find what they are looking for on the mountain paths Alfonso first walked. The infrastructure of albergues and waymarking has improved steadily in recent years, making the route more accessible without sacrificing its essential character as a walk through working rural landscapes rather than tourist corridors.