Alto de Vacariza

The camino beyond the alto splits and there is now a new type of marker to contend with. In 2016 the Galician government installed new stones to mark the camino. When they were installed the routes were re-examined by planners and several changes and additions were made. In this case, the old camino route was re-named the complementaria route, and a second route was added as the official route. This business of creating complementaria routes has led to much confusion because in some localities (Arzúa is the nearest example) it was applied to a route (for historical reasons) which for decades has been the only option; causing many pilgrims to waste time looking for an official route which does not exist. In this case the old camino has been renamed the complementaria. This guidebook however continues to treat it as the original and still preferred option and the distances indicated are along it. It is 5.5km from the split to Castroverde along the complementaria option, and 4.7 along the newer option.