Castro

Castro is a small village in the municipality of Grandas de Salime, in western Asturias, which the Camino Primitivo pilgrim reaches shortly after leaving the town of Grandas, already facing the long climb towards Galicia. Its name points to its most valuable hallmark: the Chao Samartín hillfort, one of the most important archaeological sites in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Inhabited since the Bronze Age and monumentalised in the Castro and Roman periods, it was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 2014 and has an interpretation centre displaying the finds from its excavations, from circular dwellings to goldwork. Beyond its heritage value, Castro is a rural mountain settlement surrounded by meadows, oak groves and corridors of vegetation that accompany the walker. For the pilgrim it represents, above all, the chance to split in two the hard stage between Grandas de Salime and A Fonsagrada: its hostel makes it possible to tackle the demanding climb to Puerto del Acebo and the crossing into Galicia the next day with rested legs. A stop modest in services but rich in history and quiet.