Camino Primitivo emergency & health guide: hospitals, health centres, 112 and rescue

Emergency numbers

Install the free AlertCops app before you go: it has an SOS button, a chat with the police in several languages and a "Guardián" service that shares your location. Mobile signal is weak or absent on parts of the Hospitales ridge and in the Allande valleys, so tell someone your plan and charge your phone.

Rules to know

• Credencial and Compostela: carry a pilgrim credential and get it stamped every day. To receive the Compostela you must walk at least the last 100 km, ending at the cathedral, which on the Primitivo means starting in Lugo or earlier; most pilgrims collect two stamps a day from Lugo on. The Pilgrim's Office in Rúa Carretas 33 is open every day from 9:00 to 19:00.
• Public albergues: in Galicia the Xunta albergues cost €10, open from 13:00 to 22:00, take no reservations, give one night only and must be left by 08:00; priority goes to pilgrims with disabilities, then walkers, riders and cyclists. Asturian municipal albergues work in the same way, for about €9 to €10 or a donation.
• Hospitales route: do not take it in snow, dense fog, storms or strong wind; use the Pola de Allande route instead. There are no services or treated water for about 23 km, so carry food and at least 2 litres of water.
• Wild camping is banned in Asturias and restricted in Galicia, where councils can forbid it. Sleep in albergues, guesthouses or on campsites.
• Fire: never light fires or stoves in the open and never drop cigarettes. Summer wildfires are common in western Asturias and Galicia; follow 112 and local orders if a section is closed.
• Livestock and dogs: leave gates as you find them, give cows with calves and guard dogs a wide berth, and keep your own dog on a lead. Xunta public albergues do not normally take dogs; some private albergues do.
• Drones: in Spain the operator must be registered with AESA, and flights over towns, crowds or near the airports of Asturias, Lugo and Santiago need authorisation.
• Winter: the Guardia Civil advises less experienced pilgrims not to walk between November and March, when snow, ice, fog and short days are common on the high stages and many albergues close.

Before you go, check the AEMET forecast for the Hospitales ridge and the Alto do Acebo, and ask in Tineo or Borres about the conditions on the ridge. After Melide the Camino Francés joins and albergues fill early in summer, so book a private bed a day ahead or arrive early for a public one.

Nearest hospital for each stage

Hospitals

Health centres and PAC urgent care

Health centres (centro de salud, centro de saúde) treat blisters, sprains, wounds and minor illness, and EU visitors are seen with the European Health Insurance Card; others should carry travel insurance. In Galicia the health centres in A Fonsagrada, Melide and Arzúa also have a PAC, an urgent-care point open from 15:00 to 08:00 on weekdays and 24 hours at weekends and on holidays. Small centres such as O Cádavo, Grandas de Salime and Pola de Allande open only on weekday working hours. None of these is a hospital emergency department: for anything serious call 112.

Pharmacies, cash and supplies

• Pharmacies: Oviedo, Grado, Salas, Tineo, Grandas de Salime, A Fonsagrada, O Cádavo, Lugo, Melide, Arzúa, O Pedrouzo, Santiago de Compostela
• ATMs: Oviedo, Tineo, O Cádavo, Lugo, Melide, Santiago de Compostela
• Shops: Oviedo, Grado, Salas, Tineo, Berducedo, Grandas de Salime, A Fonsagrada, O Cádavo, Lugo, Melide, Arzúa, O Pedrouzo, Santiago de Compostela
• Bus stops: Oviedo, Grado, Salas, Berducedo, A Fonsagrada, O Cádavo, Lugo, Melide, Arzúa, O Pedrouzo, Santiago de Compostela

Spain has a duty-pharmacy rota (farmacia de guardia): every pharmacy shows the nearest open duty pharmacy on its door, and the pharmacists' colleges of Asturias, Lugo and A Coruña publish the rota online. There are pharmacies in Oviedo, Grado, Salas, Tineo, Grandas de Salime, A Fonsagrada, Lugo, Melide, Arzúa, O Pedrouzo and Santiago; there are none in Campiello, Borres, Berducedo or A Ponte Ferreira, and none on the Hospitales ridge, so carry a first-aid and blister kit.

Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.