Camino Olvidado: The Complete Route Guide
Quick facts
- Start: Bilbao, Spain, in the old town
- Finish: Cacabelos, Spain, where the route joins the Camino Francés
- Distance: ~495 km
- Typical time: 18 to 20 walking days
- Busiest months: May to June and September. Quietest: winter, when the mountain stretches are serious weather country, and high summer
- Compostela requirement: this route ends in Cacabelos, not Santiago, so it earns no Compostela on its own. Most walkers continue from Cacabelos on the Camino Francés, and Bilbao to Santiago that way is about 682 km in all.
The route: map, elevation, and stages
Weather on the route
Five day forecast from Open-Meteo for the start, midpoint, and finish towns. Check again closer to your walk.
Route track: Nederlands Genootschap van Sint Jacob (santiago.nl), republished with credit. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Dashed line: shared finish on another route.
Open the full-screen map app Plan this route Download the GPX track The same map, app-style: full screen, offline packs, and find-me while you walk. Plan this route opens the planner: regroup these stages into your own days, with a start date and a daily budget.
Places on this way
Places load with the map view.
Elevation sampled from terrain data (Terrarium DEM, built on SRTM) along the track. Hover the profile to trace the route on the map, or focus it and use the arrow keys. Click a stage band, a stage number, or a table row to zoom to that stage.
Stages
| Stage | Walk | Km | Climb | Descent | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Out of Bilbao and the Mena valley · Out of Bilbao's old town through Alonsotegi and Sodupe to Güeñes, then Zalla and Balmaseda to Nava de Ordunte, and the long climb through Bercedo to Espinosa de los Monteros. | |||||
| 1 | Bilbao → Güeñes | 24.9 | +127 m | −64 m | 3 of 5 |
| 2 | Güeñes → Nava de Ordunte | 22.9 | +201 m | −97 m | 2 of 5 |
| 3 | Nava de Ordunte → Espinosa de los Monteros | 34.8 | +771 m | −262 m | 5 of 5 |
| The Cantabrian foothills to Aguilar · South through Pedrosa de Valdeporres to Santelices, then Soncillo and Virtus to Arija on the Ebro reservoir, and west through Olea to Aguilar de Campoo. | |||||
| 4 | Espinosa de los Monteros → Santelices | 23.8 | +302 m | −348 m | 3 of 5 |
| 5 | Santelices → Arija | 24.4 | +383 m | −238 m | 3 of 5 |
| 6 | Arija → Olea | 27.9 | +604 m | −435 m | 4 of 5 |
| 7 | Olea → Aguilar de Campoo | 24.7 | +137 m | −225 m | 3 of 5 |
| The Palencia mountains and the Leonese valleys · Through Nestar to Cervera de Pisuerga, then the long day west to Guardo, and the valley days through Puente Almuhey and Cistierna to Boñar, and on to La Robla. | |||||
| 8 | Aguilar de Campoo → Cervera de Pisuerga | 28.8 | +206 m | −147 m | 3 of 5 |
| 9 | Cervera de Pisuerga → Guardo | 37.2 | +354 m | −248 m | 5 of 5 |
| 10 | Guardo → Puente Almuhey | 18.2 | +242 m | −351 m | 2 of 5 |
| 11 | Puente Almuhey → Cistierna | 21.9 | +450 m | −497 m | 3 of 5 |
| 12 | Cistierna → Boñar | 27.5 | +287 m | −281 m | 3 of 5 |
| 13 | Boñar → La Robla | 33.0 | +303 m | −289 m | 4 of 5 |
| The high country to Cacabelos · Through La Magdalena to Riello, then Pandorado and Fasgar, Igüeña, and the long day to Congosto, before the run through Cubillos del Sil and Cabañas Raras into Cacabelos and the Francés. | |||||
| 14 | La Robla → Riello | 33.8 | +664 m | −562 m | 5 of 5 |
| 15 | Riello → Fasgar | 28.8 | +437 m | −200 m | 4 of 5 |
| 16 | Fasgar → Igüeña | 18.6 | +333 m | −715 m | 2 of 5 |
| 17 | Igüeña → Congosto | 35.8 | +575 m | −771 m | 5 of 5 |
| 18 | Congosto → Cacabelos | 27.7 | +129 m | −316 m | 3 of 5 |
Plan your own days
The stages above are one way to walk this route, not the only way. Every stage town starts highlighted below, because the stages as written sleep in each one. Tap a highlighted town to walk through it and sleep at the next stop instead, and tap it again to split the days back. Your days update as you tap. Set a start date and a daily budget here and every day carries its date and its cost on this page. Open these days in the planner to carry this exact grouping into your plan, where GPX, copy, and print exports apply to it. Dates and budget set here are saved into the same plan, so they are already set when you open it there.
Why the Olvidado
The Olvidado is the old mountain way west, and it is the quietest of the long routes. Its name means the forgotten one, and the walk earns it: from Bilbao it leaves the coast behind, crosses the green Encartaciones and the Mena valley, climbs into the Cantabrian foothills around Espinosa de los Monteros, and then runs west for days through country most Camino walkers never see, the Campoo valley, the Palencia mountains around Cervera de Pisuerga and Guardo, and the Leonese mining towns from Cistierna and Boñar to La Robla. Past La Robla the route turns into the high country of Omaña and El Bierzo, through Riello, Fasgar, and Igüeña, before dropping to Congosto and Cacabelos, where it meets the Francés with about 188 km of that route still to walk to Santiago. It is a route for walkers who want mountains, small towns, and long quiet days, and who are ready for the long stages that come with them.
The shape of the route
- Bilbao to Espinosa de los Monteros (days 1-3): out of Bilbao's old town through Alonsotegi and Sodupe to Güeñes, then through Zalla and Balmaseda to Nava de Ordunte, and the long mountain day (34.8 km, splitting at Bercedo) up to Espinosa de los Monteros.
- Espinosa de los Monteros to Aguilar de Campoo (days 4-7): south through Pedrosa de Valdeporres to Santelices, then Soncillo and Virtus to Arija on the Ebro reservoir, and on through Olea to Aguilar de Campoo.
- Aguilar de Campoo to Guardo (days 8-9): through Nestar to Cervera de Pisuerga, then the route's longest day (37.2 km, splitting at Castrejón de la Peña or Santibáñez de la Peña) west to Guardo.
- Guardo to La Robla (days 10-13): shorter valley days to Puente Almuhey and Cistierna, then Boñar, and the long road day (33.0 km) through to La Robla. Our track follows the La Robla line here; the mountain line through Vegacervera and Buiza is a variant, not the main way.
- La Robla to Cacabelos (days 14-18): the high finish. La Magdalena and Riello, then Pandorado to Fasgar, Igüeña, and the long day (35.8 km, splitting at Quintana de Fuseros or Labaniego) to Congosto, before the last run through Cubillos del Sil and Cabañas Raras into Cacabelos and the Francés.
Stages and variants
The stage list in the route explorer above is this guide's one stage list. It runs as a flow in four sections (Out of Bilbao and the Mena valley, The Cantabrian foothills to Aguilar, The Palencia mountains and the Leonese valleys, and The high country to Cacabelos), with no separate table down here. Distances in the list are measured along the route track itself, town centre to town centre.
The eighteen stages are the standard shape of this route: thirteen legs in the 18 to 29 km band and five long days that exist because the beds do. Nava de Ordunte to Espinosa de los Monteros (34.8 km) splits at Bercedo, Cervera de Pisuerga to Guardo (37.2 km) splits at Castrejón de la Peña or Santibáñez de la Peña, La Robla to Riello (33.8 km) splits at La Magdalena, and Igüeña to Congosto (35.8 km) splits at Quintana de Fuseros or Labaniego. Eighteen days is the standard walk; twenty or more, splitting the long days, is the kinder plan.
The library track set also carries four Olvidado variants: the Villasana de Mena alternative in the Mena valley, a short variant in the Boñar to La Robla corridor, the Vegacervera mountain line west of Boñar, and a hard mountain alternative in the Cistierna to Boñar corridor. They are not part of the main stage list above; the main line runs through La Robla.
Key decision points
- The long days call: five stages run 33 to 37 km. Each has a documented split town with beds in season, listed above. Decide your splits before you start; on this route the next town is rarely close enough to improvise.
- The La Robla line or the mountain line: west of Boñar the main track runs the road line through La Robla. The Vegacervera and Buiza mountain line is the scenic variant and the harder walk. It is a variant, not a shortcut, and it rejoins toward La Magdalena.
- Continue or stop at Cacabelos: Cacabelos is a proper Francés town in El Bierzo, so it works as a finish, with Ponferrada and its trains about 14 km back east on the Francés. Continuing puts Santiago about 188 km further. Decide before you start, because the two walks have very different lengths.
When to walk
- May-June: the strongest window. The mountain country is clear in most years, the valleys are green, and the long days come with long daylight.
- July-August: warm in the valleys and busy nowhere; the high stretches are the pleasant part. Carry real water on the long days.
- September-October: the second good window. Cooler air and quiet towns; days shorten noticeably by October on a route with this many long stages.
- November-March: a winter walk. Snow is possible on the high stretches for months, some small town services close, and the long days leave no slack. For experienced, self-reliant pilgrims only.
Practical notes
- Difficulty: hard overall, not for any single climb but for the accumulation of long days in remote country. The route is a step up from the Francés in self-reliance.
- Credencial: available in Bilbao. Stamp as you go; on the quiet stretches, bars, albergues, and town halls are the reliable stamp points.
- Beds: a mix of municipal and association albergues in the stage towns and hostals in the bigger stops. The network is thin, and a few stage towns have one albergue only, so check the key nights ahead in season.
- Food and water: carry a real lunch and full water on the long days. Several legs have nothing between the start and finish towns.
- Waymarking: yellow arrows out of Bilbao and through the valleys, then the usual Camino markers west. A GPX track or a current app is a sensible backup in the mountain country.
- Getting there and away: Bilbao is a major city with air, train, and bus links. Cacabelos sits on the Francés, and Ponferrada, about 14 km back east on that route, has the nearest train station.
Holy Year 2027 note
2027 is a Holy Year (Xacobeo). The Olvidado itself will stay far quieter than the Francés it joins, but its bed network is small enough that even a modest Holy Year increase can fill the only albergue in a mountain town. Book the one-albergue nights ahead, and expect Cacabelos and everything west of it on the Francés to be busier than usual.