Stage 2: Grau/Grado - Salas

Stage 2: Grau/Grado - Salas 21.9 Kms

This stage of the Primitive Way runs between the capitals of the councils of Grau/Grado and Salas, the two municipalities through which the route runs for 22.51 km.

The first section of the stage is the ascent to the Fresno pass, which is very steep, from the town of Grau/Grado to the vicinity of the Fresno sanctuary, over a distance of approximately 4.5 kilometres, with a 300-metre drop over this distance, with the climb intensifying considerably in the section immediately before the arrival at the pass. The descent then begins towards the Narcea River, in Cornellana, and then the ascent begins again, much more gently, until reaching the town of Salas.

The route is mostly on asphalt or concrete roads, although there is a third of the itinerary that still runs along dirt or gravel tracks. Alongside the council capitals that mark the beginning and end of the stage, the Way of St. James passes through numerous small villages and towns, such as Acebéu, Doriga, La Rodriga, Llamas, Villazón or Casazorrina, as well as the large town of Cornellana, where the monastery of San Salvador is located, one of the great heritage sites of Asturias, included in 2015 by UNESCO on the World Heritage List as an element linked to the Primitive Way of St. James.

There are numerous examples of cultural heritage in this stage, both in terms of great examples of religious and civil architecture from medieval and modern times, such as the Romanesque churches of Santa Eulalia de la Doriga, Santiago de Villazón or the collegiate church of Salas, as well as examples of traditional and popular Asturian architecture, very abundant in the small villages along the Pilgrim's Way, where you can admire large granaries and granaries, wash houses, fountains and small bridges of traditional design. The two council capitals on the route, Grau/Grado and Salas, both have historical sites declared Sites of Cultural Interest, where there are numerous examples of good architecture, as well as public spaces (squares, promenades, parks) of notable interest.

In this stage there are abundant references to the passage of pilgrims to Compostela in medieval and modern times. In the town of Grau/Grado there was traditionally a pilgrims' hospital, documented since the 16th century, under the patronage of Nuestra Señora de las Candelas, with earlier references to the hospital of San Juan de Leñapañada or Villapañada, a short distance from the town of Moscona, and already mentioned in the early 13th century. In Salas, there was traditionally a hospice in the monastery of San Salvador de Cornellana that served pilgrims, already mentioned at the end of the 15th century. In the capital of the council there was a hospital dedicated to San Roque, whose chapel is still preserved, documented at the beginning of the 15th century.