Spain · UNESCO World Heritage
Camino Lebaniego
Lebaniego Way
San Vicente de la Barquera → Santo Toribio de Liébana
- Total distance
- 72 km
- Typical duration
- 3 days
- Stages
- 3
- Average stage
- 24.0 km
- Longest stage
- 28.0 km
- Pilgrims
- ~2k a year
The Lebaniego Way leaves the Northern Way at San Vicente de la Barquera and climbs inland up the Nansa and Deva valleys to the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, beneath the Picos de Europa. The monastery holds the Lignum Crucis, held to be the largest surviving piece of the True Cross, and is one of only a handful of sites granted a Holy Year by Rome.
Three stages, but steep ones — this is a genuine mountain approach, not a stroll. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2015 alongside the northern routes, and most pilgrims walking it continue afterwards on the Camino del Norte or turn south towards the French Way.
Route map
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Trail geometry & map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Stages
The conventional stage division. Distances over 30 km are highlighted — those are the days worth planning around.
| # | Stage | Distance | Total | Ascent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Vicente de la Barquera→Cades | 28.0 km | 28.0 | 620 m | Leaves the Camino del Norte and turns inland up the Nansa valley. |
| 2 | Cades→Cabañes | 26.0 km | 54.0 | 900 m | The hardest stage, climbing over the Collado de Arceda. |
| 3 | Cabañes→Santo Toribio de Liébana | 18.0 km | 72.0 | 340 m | A long descent to Potes, then a short climb to the monastery. |