Grandas de Salime

Grandas de Salime carries the Way of St James in its ‘genetic map’; not surprisingly, one of its most notable distinguishing features is the fact that it is the final Asturian stage of the Primitive Way, before pilgrims enter Galician territory. Perhaps because of this dual ‘nomadic’ and sedentary character, Grandas preserves its most ancient origins like few other places; restless travellers can explore these at the Chao Samartín or at its renowned Ethnographic Museum – a comprehensive compendium of the entire traditional culture and customs of the western region and of the whole of Asturias –. The Ethnographic Museum, thanks to its impressive and ever-growing collection of artefacts, offers a rich glimpse into the past, brought to life in a vivid and highly realistic manner, where visitors can explore a blacksmith’s workshop, a rural school, the dentist’s surgery, the nurse’s station, the tailor’s workshop, the classic shop-cum-bar, and so on; in short, a collection of well-integrated and skilfully showcased elements that make this facility a benchmark in Spain.

In addition to its cultural heritage linked to the Way of St James and its military history, Grandas de Salime boasts a magnificent, panoramic reservoir on the River Navia, which is another of its most distinctive landmarks, complete with a village. Churches and stately homes, the Collegiate Church of El Salvador which marks the Way of St James, nature trails, archaeological routes, hunting and fishing, the Carondio and Valledor mountain ranges, the ancient gold mines that the Romans exhausted… and so many hopes and dreams of thousands of pilgrims. Grandas de Salime is a catalyst for dreams and journeys.

Population: 830 inhabitants
Area: 29.45^km²
Weekly market: Second Sunday of every month