LOTUS EATERS TRAVEL

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DECIDING BETWEEN THE HOSPITALES AND THE POLA ROUTES ON THE CAMINO PRIMITIVO.

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In every conversation we’ve had with walkers who’ve tackled the Camino Primitivo, one topic always comes up — the famous Hospitales route. We’ve heard countless tales of its magic: wild, remote landscapes and insane views. But we’ve also heard the other side — that it can be bleak, exposed, and miserable in bad weather.

What surprised me most was how little I’d heard about the alternative. The Pola route is often overlooked, yet it’s a beautiful, varied walk in its own right. So, when we walked the Camino Primitivo ourselves, I started to dig a little deeper into this section.

One of the biggest decisions on the route is whether to brave the Hospitales or take the alternative path via Pola de Allande. Spoiler alert — we chose the route to Pola de Allande instead of the Hospitales (gasp!), and we really enjoyed it.

In this post, I’ll share more about the two options — Hospitales or Pola de Allande — and explain why we went with the latter.

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Hopitales Route versus the Pola de Allande Route

But first, a little context about the two options. The decision between the routes comes just after Borres — for us, this was on day four, shortly after leaving Tineo. It’s at Borres that the Camino Primitivo splits, and you’ll need to decide which path to follow.

The Hospitales Route: the older, wilder, and more dramatic option.

The Pola de Allande Route: the main way, leading through villages and into the small mountain town of Pola de Allande.

Both routes eventually rejoin at the same point beyond Pola (Puertu de Palu to be exact), but they offer very different experiences. We chose to walk via Pola de Allande — and here’s why, along with a breakdown of what to expect on both routes.

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Distances and Staging

If you know this website — or me — then you’ll know that Camino staging is one of my favourite topics. I love writing about daily stages, I love planning them, and yes, I even offer a professional planning service now! I talk about stage planning for hours on end.

I mention this because deciding whether to walk the Hospitales or Pola route on the Camino Primitivo affects not just the scenery you’ll see, but also the distances you’ll cover and how you’ll need to plan your stages.

Here’s how it breaks down.

Hospitales Route

The Hospitales Route is a single, long stage of roughly 25 km from Borres to Berducedo, with around 1,200 metres of climbing. It’s a stunning but remote section — there are no cafés, shops, or villages along the way. Just wilderness, and of course the ruins of a hospital.

First things first: if you want to take the Hospitales, you need to be confident you can comfortably walk the full distance in one day.

Secondly, you’ll need to secure accommodation on either side — typically Borres before, and Berducedo after.

Here’s the catch: Borres isn’t exactly charming, and options for albergues are limited. Samblismo, a small hamlet just beyond Borres, once had a lovely albergue but, as far as I know, it’s now closed.

This year, we met several pilgrims who struggled to find accommodation around this stretch. One even ended up walking a 45 km day, including the entire Hospitales section — impressive, but not something I’d recommend unless you’re very fit and well-prepared.

That’s not to say the Hospitales is unmanageable — just that it requires a bit of organisation and flexibility. Book ahead if you can, and definitely carry snacks and water.

Tip – if you do want to walk the Hospitales, but don’t want to stay in Borres, or you want to keep both options – you can stay in Alojamiento-Albergue Los Hospitales. This albergue is just after the bifurcation, but there is a footpath which can take you to the Hospitales (or you can continue to Pola.)

Pola de Allande Route

The Pola Route offers a more balanced and flexible approach to staging. From Borres, the path meanders through small hamlets before reaching Pola de Allande, a charming little mountain town with a handful of good albergues, restaurants, and a proper supermarket.

Most pilgrims break this route into two gentler days: Borres to Pola de Allande (about 18 km) and then Pola to Berducedo (around 20 km, with a 600m climb over Puerto del Palo). The second day still includes a solid ascent, but you’ll have a warm bed, a good dinner, and maybe even a glass of wine before tackling it.

We chose to do things a little differently – we walked in one day from Tineo (a great town) to Pola. This was a long day of approximately 27km, but very satisfying walking. It meant we could avoid walking the short day from Tineo to Borres, and staying overnight there. The following day, we tackled the big climb from Pola and stayed in La Mesa (22km), avoiding Berducedo.

You can find our daily stages guide here, detailing exactly what we did.

Accommodation is much easier to find along this route, and the daily distances are more forgiving if you prefer to walk at a steady pace rather than push through a long wilderness day.

In short, the Pola route is less dramatic than the Hospitales, but it is still very scenic, sociable, and practical — ideal for those who value a bit of comfort and flexibility over solitude.

Our experience: We liked the idea of planning our stages around places we wanted to visit, not just necessity. For us, that meant Pola.

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The Weather Factor

The Hospitales route is heavily weather dependent. It’s exposed, high up, and in bad weather (fog, heavy rain, snow), it can be both miserable and unsafe. If the weather isn’t playing ball, you won’t be seeing the epic views, so there may be little point in heading up there.

You’ll need to be flexible enough to make a last-minute call — and possibly adjust your accommodation plans too.

The Pola route is less affected by weather, though you’ll still be climbing. If you’re someone who likes to plan ahead rather than leaving decisions to the morning, this route makes life easier.

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Pros and Cons

Here’s a short summary of the pros and cons.

Hospitales Route
✅ Wild, remote, and dramatic scenery
✅ Follows the original “primitive” way
❌ No facilities along the way — no cafés, bars, or shops
❌ Dependent on good weather
❌ Requires staging in less-than-charming towns

Pola Route
✅ Beautiful trail through forests and valleys
✅ Overnight in Pola de Allande, a mountain town with real character
✅ More amenities and better accommodation options
❌ Still significant climbing (over 1,100m from Pola to Puerto de Palo!)
❌ Less remote than Hospitales — some pilgrims feel it’s “safer” rather than “wilder”

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Why We Chose Pola de Allande

For us, the decision came down to staging and experience. We didn’t want to spend a night in Borres just for the sake of tackling Hospitales, and we liked the idea of enjoying Pola de Allande, which turned out to be a highlight. I hate to say, food made me do it, but it is in part true!

We also didn’t like leaving things to chance last minute – if the weather had been bad on the day, we knew there would be little pleasure in walking the Hospitales.

Walking from Tineo to Pola (27km, 850m up, 950m down), we were rewarded with one of our favourite days of the Camino. The trail was gorgeous — wooded paths with little streams – it felt magical.

Arriving in Pola felt like dropping into a town tucked deep into the mountains. It has a quirky, distinctive vibe — there happend to be a fiesta when we arrived. Our albergue, La Casita de Aba, was welcoming and spotless, with lemonades on arrival and some of the comfiest beds we had.

The following day, from Pola to La Mesa (22km, 1,100m up, 750m down), was another gem. The climb out of Pola is long — about 700m over 9km — but never brutally steep. At the top of Puerto de Palo (1,146m), the views were spectacular, and having packed a picnic, we sat and ate lunch looking out across the mountains. It was tough, but unforgettable.

You can find a video including our days walking into and out of Pola below.

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So, Which Should You Choose?

If you want wildness, history, and don’t mind roughing it a little with staging and weather, then Hospitales is legendary for a reason. Many pilgrims say it’s the best day of their Camino.

But if you’d rather shape your walk around towns with character, better amenities, and a smoother plan, the Pola route is a fantastic alternative. It may not have the same reputation, but for us, it delivered two of the best walking days of the entire Camino.

Our tip: Don’t walk Hospitales just for the sake of it. Choose the route that fits your style — and the places you actually want to spend your Camino evenings. For us, that meant Pola, and we wouldn’t change a thing. Even if it means we missed out on the bragging rights that come with walking the Hospitales.

Written by Emma

Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.

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