Day 1: SAINT-JEAN-PIED-DE-PORT
Make your way to the station of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (4 daily trains from Bayonne) or directly to the hostel if you arrive by car (there is a possibility to leave a car for the duration of the trail). Dinner and overnight at the inn.
Day 2: SAINT-JEAN-PIED-DE-PORT to RONCEVAUX (23 kms)
After breakfast make your way through the cobbled streets of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. These are the first steps taken by the legendary St Jacques de Compostela. The route takes you very quickly into the foothills of the Pyrenees. After a few hours riding you cross marker No. 119. This marks the border and you now step hoof (!) on Spanish soil. In the distance, the gigantic figure of Roncesvalles is already taking shape. Roncesvalles was and remains a refuge for pilgrims. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 3: RONCEVAUX to LARRASOANA (27 kms)
Your pilgrimage continues through pastures, forests of conifers and beech in Navarre. A series of short passes and a string of villages punctuate your progress in this mountain landscape: Bourguet, Espinal, Viscarret, Linzoàin, Zubiri ... Some perilous descents on rocky trails are anticipated before crossing Larrasoaña. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 4: LARRASOANA to PUENTE LA REINA (35kms)
This morning you will follow the course of the river Arga, at the foot of a series of hills covered with beech, oak and hawthorn. The rural landscape and fertile plains of Navarre unfold before you. At midday you pass a milestone on the Pamplona Road. Your journey continues further south and after climbing Zariquiegui in the foothills of the Alto where a row of giant windmills speckle the summit, you descend to Muruzabal to arrive in the late afternoon at Punta la Reina. Here is the confluence point, all roads to Compostela became one as proclaimed by the Pilgrim Monument located at the entrance to the city. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 5: PUENTA DE LA REINA to ESTELLA (22 kms)
Step into the hilly countryside bridleways that are perfect for some fine gallops. The path winds through the grain fields, vineyards and olive groves with a beautiful view of the bright houses of Cirauqui. It is by the Roman road you reach the beautiful Estella. Estella is the city most representative of the Camino Frances. Founded in 1090 by King Sancho Ramírez, the medieval old town has many Romanesque and Gothic buildings that testify to its former glory. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 6: ESTELLA to LOS ARCOS to VIANA (40 kms)
A new stage through Navarre. Ride through the grain fields and olive groves, with the shrine of San Gregorio de Ostience on a distant hill. Crossing streams to arrive at Los Arcos before continuing in a Mediterranean atmosphere with the scent of thyme and scrubland. Olive and almond trees line the road that takes you to the small town of Viana with its narrow and shady streets. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 7: VIANA to LOGRONO to AZOFRA (44 kms)
Ride into the Navarra Rioja, land of vines, marshes and lagoons. Downhill riding into the pine forest before Logroño. Climb the Alto de San Anton and emerge onto a broad panorama. Discover the medieval town of Najera, then a few more gallops to join Azofra, a small village "drowned" in the grape of Rioja.
Overnight at a local inn.
Day 8: AZOFRA to SANTO DOMINGO DE LA CALZADA to REDECILLA (27 kms)
Step onto the farm roads that wind through the rolling hills. You ride through the villages of Santo Domingo and Cirueña de la Calzada. Soon you will enter the Rioja to Castile, which straddles the mountain ranges of northern Spain (Cantabria Mountain Range, Mountains of Leon Mountains and Aquilianos) and the plateau of Meseta. This region has a wealth of landscapes and soils. Onwards to Redecilla, a pretty village with houses emblazoned by the sun. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 9: REDECILLA DEL CAMINO to SAN JUAN DE ORTEGA (37 kms)
Discover the cave dwellings of Redecilla and shortly after go on horseback through the fields to Villafranca Montes de Oca. Here, you enter the dense woods of Mont de Oca, once known to be the home of wolves and also highwaymen who were waiting to rob the pilgrims. The forest of oaks gives way to heather moorland and coniferous trees. The earth is red. Burgos will be seen in the distance. Descent to San Juan de Ortega and his monastery. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 10: SAN JUAN DE ORTEGA to BURGOS (25 kms)
After the solitary locations of the Sierra de Atapuerca, small villages and Agès Atapuerca, the path climbs to the dry plateau overlooking Burgos, then down into the valley of the river Pico. Here, the peaceful agricultural landscape gives way to the city of Burgos, the capital of the unified kingdom of Castile and Leon for five centuries. This city has one of the masterpieces of the Gothic Spanish tradition - its cathedral, a World Heritage Site. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 11: BURGOS to HONTANAS (31 kms)
You leave Burgos along an avenue under the poplars and then ride through the steppe laced with small streams. Rapid descent on Camino del Hornillos before levelling out onto the Paramo (desert plateau). You descend to Hontanas, a beautiful village that appears suddenly below a hill and rises like an oasis in the desert. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 12: HONTANAS to CASTROJERIZ to FROMISTA (35 kms)
Go under the arch of the magnificent monastery of Saint-Antoine, where the monks once distributed meals to the pilgrims to reach the village of Castrojeriz and its many churches. You climb back on the Paramo by a beautiful stone path. After a short pass, you descend quickly to the Tierra de Campos, vast plains where the road meanders almost to infinity. Dirt roads, small roads and paths until Fromista. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 13: FROMISTA to LEON to CHOZAS DE ABAJOS
For some riders this is the end of their adventure as this concludes the first part of the pilgramage route. You leave the horses just before the city of Leon to explore the city on foot and by vehicle. Founded by the Romans as the headquarters of the legion to which it owes its name, Leon has become over the centuries the capital of the Kingdom of León. She passed from the Romans to the Visigoths and to the Castillians and marks the 8th stage of the Camino de Santiago, as the Codex Calixtien. The cathedral and its stained glass windows are remarkable. Those riders who are completing the second part of the pilgramage route join the remaining riders and transfer to Chozas de Abajo for the evening. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 14: CHOZAS DE ABAJO to PUENTE Y HOSPITAL DE OBRIGO (19 kms)
Today you head off on the second segment from Chozas de Abajo through small valleys separated by hills. You ride through the countryside and the desert areas of the Paramo in the province of Leon. You encounter several new villages and experience exhilarating gallops on the dirt roads to reach Orbogo Hospital. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 15: PUENTE Y HOSPITAL DE OBRIGO to MURIAS DE RECHIVALDO (20 kms)
You leave the arid plain of the Paramo de Leon for irrigation canals and vegetable crops. In the distance the mountains of Leon and the fortified town of Astorga, the capital of Margateria, a region where gold reserves were legendary at the time of the first pilgrims. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 16: MURIAS DE RECHIVALDO to RABANAL DEL CAMINO (16 kms)
At the heart of the region of Maragatería crossing undulating land where horses leap over the brush and bracken, through the oak and conifer plantations. Onto Polvadarès Castrillo, very beautiful and very strange village after which you climb gently towards the foothills of the mountains of Leon. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 17: RABANAL DES CAMINO to MOLINASECA (25 kms)
Continuing our ascent towards the famous Monte Irago. Long descent towards the rich region of El Bierzo. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 18: MOLINASECA to VILLAFRANCA DES BIERZO (30 kms)
You ride through the Bierzo region, in a ring of mountains forming a depression. A fertile land thanks to its favorable climate, it is abound vineyards and orchards. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 19: VILLAFRANCA DES BIERZO to O CEBREIRO (30 kms)
The ultimate journey through the lands of Bierzo, one of the finest and most difficult, which crosses the narrow river valley Valcarce, before starting the ascent to O Cebreiro. The village retains a set of ancient "pallozas" or stone houses with thatched roofs. We must also see the pre-Romanesque church, the oldest on this journey of Saint Jacques de Compostela, preserved in its entirety. Its bells were rung in the winter for the pilgrims travelling through the mists.Overnight at a local inn.
Day 20: O CEBREIRO to TRIACASTELA (21 kms)
You leave the province of Leon for Galicia, which extends to St. Jacques de Compostela. From O Cebreiro you are surrounded by rounded summits and high slopes, the pass crosses the Sierra de Ranadoiro and, after crossing the height of Alto do Poio, down to the valley where stands Tiacastela.Overnight at a local inn.
Day 21: TRIACASTELA to BARBADELO (23 kms)
You continue riding the Camino de San Gil, which has an undulating landscape, with paved roads crossing the dense "Carballeiras Galician" (oak forests typical of the region). Overnight at a local inn.
Day 22: BARBADELA to PALAS DE REI (42 kms)
In the saddle through the "Meseta Lucense" (Plateau de Lugo) populated by many hamlets surrounded by agricultural fields dedicated to breeding. You ride towards the great river of Mino and Portomarin. Through an open landscape covered with pine and eucalyptus. Passing the Sierra de Ligonde, which belongs to the Galician Ridge, you enter the breeding region of Ulloa. Arrive in Palas de Rei (Royal Palace), which was considered as the court of King Witiza Visigoth and the Episcopal Suevian in the 5th centruy. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 23: PALAS DE REI to ARZUA (26 kms)
You enter the province of La Coruna (one of four provinces of Galicia) before reaching its old roadway. The landscape is thick with indigenous hardwoods. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 24: ARZUA to MONTE DE GOZO (34 kms)
After Calzada you enter the town of O Pino, following a path that intertwines with the road constantly. You arrive at Monte do Gozo, having left behind the many hamlets scattered among the eucalyptus woods. Overnight at a local inn.
Day 25: MONTE DE GOZO to SANTIAGO (5 kms)
Your last steps on horseback and arrival in Santiago de Compostela. Its old city is incomparable. Around the cathedral lies the historic centre, listed as world heritage site by UNESCO. You will find monuments that are real gems of art, diverse styles of architecture - Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque. The oldest monuments are grouped around the tomb of Saint-Jacques, located in the cathedral, which also contains the extraordinary Porch of Glory. Bus, train or rental car are available to reach the hostel where you spent the first night of the pilgramage or the airports of Bilbao, Zaragoza, Pamplona or another destination. We can also book you a room if you want to stay a little longer in Santiago.
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