The Camino Primitivo is preparing for important changes ahead of Xacobeo 2027. The Xunta de Galicia has definitively approved a project that contemplates the construction of 21 new pedestrian paths and the improvement of four other existing sections. The actions will affect seven municipalities of Lugo and To Coruña, with a priority objective: to prevent pilgrims from having to walk next to vehicles at certain points along the route.
One of the greatest dangers of the Camino de Santiago is not always in the mountains, on the steep slopes or in the weather conditions. Sometimes it appears in something much more everyday: a narrow road along which pilgrims and vehicles must advance sharing the same space.
This situation is especially delicate in certain sectors of the Camino Primitivo, one of the oldest historical pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela.
To reduce these risks, the Xunta de Galicia has taken a new administrative step in the project to improve road safety on the itinerary, with an eye on the next Jacobean Holy Year 2027.
The initiative received final approval from the Xunta Council on October 5 and was published this Tuesday, November 3, in the Official Gazette of Galicia.
Seven municipalities will have new paths
The interventions will take place in seven Galician town councils through which the Primitive Way passes.
In the province of Lugo there will be performances in A Fonsagrada, Baleira, Lugo, Guntín and Palas de Rei. In A Coruña, the improvements will reach Toques and Melide.
The project contemplates the construction of 21 pedestrian paths separated from the road, especially in places where the Camino coincides with regional, provincial or municipal roads.
It is not about creating 21 different Jacobean routes, but about enabling safer sections within the existing route.
The purpose is that pilgrims can advance through spaces reserved for walking, reducing their exposure to traffic and improving the continuity of the itinerary.
From A Fonsagrada to Melide: the affected points
Among the places where actions are planned are different sectors of A Fonsagrada, such as Fonfría, O Padrón, O Piñeiral and Vilardongo, in addition to the areas of Alto de Hospital and Muradal.
The intervention will continue through other municipalities in Lugo and will reach different points around Lugo, including Campo de la Barra, Coeses, Vilarvente and San Lázaro.
Improvements are also planned in Guntín and Palas de Rei, before reaching the final section of the Camino Primitivo, in the A Coruña municipalities of Toques and Melide.
In this last area, actions are contemplated in sectors such as A Ponte da Pedra, Curutelo and Zaramil.
Many of these places are part of an eminently rural route, where local roads and traditional paths meet at numerous points.
Four existing roads will also be improved
In addition to the 21 new paths, the project includes the conditioning of four other sections that are already part of the itinerary.
The planned works include the cleaning and recovery of ditches, the profiling of the roads and the replacement of the pavement using granular materials.
Signage and drainage improvements are also contemplated, with the purpose of facilitating the transit of pilgrims and avoiding conservation problems.
These actions seek to resolve specific difficulties without the need to completely transform the landscape through which the pilgrimage passes.
A global investment of up to 40 million euros
The intervention of the Camino Primitivo is integrated into a broader program of the Xunta de Galicia aimed at improving the safety of the Jacobean routes before the Xacobeo 2027.
The regional plan contemplates a global investment of up to 40 million euros and actions on more than 150 kilometers of routes.
This amount corresponds to the entire program, not exclusively to the 21 new paths of the Camino Primitivo.
The final approval of the project represents an important administrative advance, but it does not mean that the works have already been executed.
The agreement includes the declaration of public utility and the necessary provisions to dispose of the affected lands. The municipalities involved must adapt their urban planning to the project within the established period of one year.
Security, yes, but without losing the essence of the Camino
The news also opens a reflection on the model of the Camino de Santiago that we want to preserve.
Improving the safety of pilgrims is an obvious need, especially in sections where walking next to traffic poses a risk.
However, any intervention on a historical itinerary should pay special attention to the landscape, heritage and traditional elements that are part of its identity.
The Camino Primitivo retains a rural character and a very close relationship with the small towns, the mountain trails and the landscapes of the interior of Asturias and Galicia.
The construction of new paths can help protect those who travel along them, as long as the solutions respect the environment and do not turn old paths into unnecessarily artificial spaces.
It is not about choosing between security and authenticity, but about achieving both.
The Primitive Way before the Xacobeo 2027
The proximity of the next Jacobean Holy Year is accelerating numerous projects to condition and improve pilgrimage routes.
In the case of the Camino Primitivo, the new pedestrian paths aim to solve risk points that directly affect those who make the route.
Until the interventions are completed, pilgrims must continue to pay attention to crossings and sectors shared with roads, respecting existing signage and indications that may be established during the works.
The challenge will be to make the Camino Primitivo safer without losing what makes it special: its history, its towns, its traditional paths and its hospitality.
Because protecting the pilgrim also means protecting the Path they have come seeking.
