Colunga

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough. Colunga itself is small: a chapel, a 16th-century noble palace and houses built by emigrants who came back from America. The Jurassic museum lies outside town between Colunga and Lastres and is worth it if you have the time and feel like a detour. Many pilgrims already spend the night in La Isla, 3.7 kilometres before town, and walk through in the morning.

Colunga in Ninja numbers

• 399.2 kilometres are still left from here to Santiago on the Camino del Norte.
• 20.4 kilometres it is from Ribadesella to here, with 499 metres of ascent.
• 39 dinosaur replicas are on show at the Museo del Jurásico de Asturias on the Rasa de San Telmo.
• Over 1,000 metres high is the Sierra del Sueve rising behind the town.
• 921 is the year the church of San Salvador de Priesca was consecrated; you pass it tomorrow after 8.2 kilometres.

Arriving: along the beaches to Colunga

From Ribadesella the Way runs past beaches, along the Playa de la Espasa between Caravia and Colunga and through La Isla with its pilgrim hostel. Then you reach Colunga. From here you won't see the sea for a while.

In brief: the Jurassic and America

The coast of Colunga belongs to what is called the Jurassic Coast of Asturias. The first dinosaur footprints in the area were discovered at La Griega beach at the mouth of the Libardón, and on the plateau above the coast now stands the Museo del Jurásico de Asturias, the MUJA, according to a pilgrim portal the most visited museum in Asturias.

The town itself is older and smaller than the museum crowds suggest. Among the oldest buildings are the Ermita de Santa Ana and the Palacio de los Alonso Covián from the 16th century. There are also houses from the early 20th century built by emigrants after their return from America, the so-called Indianos.

Between mountain and sea: what to see

Most things are in town; the museum and the tracks are outside.

• Ermita de Santa Ana and Palacio de los Alonso Covián: Chapel and noble seat from the 16th century, the oldest buildings in town. We did not find opening hours for the chapel.
• Indiano houses: Houses of emigrants who returned from America and modernist buildings from the early 20th century.
• Museo del Jurásico de Asturias (MUJA): Between Colunga and Lastres on the Rasa de San Telmo, with 39 dinosaur replicas and views of the coast. We did not find opening hours or admission; the Way does not pass it.
• Playa de la Griega: Long beach at the mouth of the Libardón between Colunga and Lastres, with dinosaur footprints in the rocks. It too lies off the Way.
• Santiago de Gobiendes: A pre-Romanesque church from the 10th century in the municipality, dedicated to Saint James. We did not find how far it is from the Way.

Honestly

• No pilgrim hostel in Colunga. The nearest are in La Isla, 3.7 kilometres before, and in Sebrayo, 11.1 kilometres further on.
• The museum is a detour. The MUJA and La Griega beach lie between Colunga and Lastres, not on the Way. We have no distance.
• From here the sea is gone. The Way to Villaviciosa heads inland, often along the N-632 road.

Where pilgrims sleep

The pilgrim hostel for Colunga is in La Isla, 3.7 kilometres before town: the Albergue de peregrinos de La Isla in the old school, about 150 metres from the sea. It belongs to the municipality of Colunga, is run privately and has 22 places in one dormitory, open all year, with kitchen and washing machine. A night costs 10.50 € with breakfast (as of October 2026); you need a pilgrim passport, check-in is from 13:00 to 20:00. La Isla also has a private hostel with a dormitory.

Beyond Colunga lie the Albergue La Rectoral de Priesca after 8.2 kilometres, open from April to November, and the small Albergue Peregrinos de Sebrayo after 11.1 kilometres. In Colunga itself there is a hostal and several hotels.

Ninja tips

• Get cash in Colunga. According to the hostel in La Isla, the cash machine in Colunga is the nearest one.
• Sleep in La Isla if you want the sea one more time. After that the Way heads inland for a long while.
• Save some strength for tomorrow morning. Between Colunga and Villaviciosa lies the highest point of the stage, 178 metres, shortly before Priesca.

Onward: to Villaviciosa

From Colunga the Way leads inland via Pernús and Priesca to Sebrayo and Villaviciosa, 16.9 kilometres with 484 metres of ascent. The highest point, at 178 metres, is a hilltop before Priesca. There stands the church of San Salvador de Priesca, consecrated in 921, one of the late works of Asturian pre-Romanesque architecture.

What awaits you tomorrow

In Priesca you pass one of the oldest churches on the whole Way: San Salvador was consecrated on 24 September 921 and since 1993 has been part of the World Heritage of the Ways of St James. In the evening you reach Villaviciosa, the town of Asturian cider.

Deep dive: Tracks from the Jurassic

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Colunga. About two minutes' reading.

The dinosaur coast

On the coast of Colunga, rock from the Jurassic lies exposed. At La Griega beach a scientist discovered the first dinosaur footprints in these rocks. Above it, on the Rasa de San Telmo, now stands a museum with thirty-nine replicas of the animals. For the area it is an attraction; for pilgrims a detour you don't have to make.

A town between mountain and sea

Behind Colunga the Sierra del Sueve rises to over a thousand metres. Sailors are said to have seen the mountain from about ten nautical miles away. The town lies between this mountain and the coast, with a chapel and a noble house from the sixteenth century and the houses of emigrants who came back from America.

What Colunga gives you

Here the Way leaves the sea for a while. Tomorrow you go into the hinterland, to a church that is already more than a thousand years old. Colunga is the place where you briefly turn around.