Camino de Santiago - Modern Pilgrimage
P.S. Major updates in progress, check back often (8/14/09)
Photo by 3dom via Flickr
Routes to Santiago
Make it happen!
There's no "right" way to get to Santiago. Many pilgrims have simply walked out their front doors. Many more will continue to do so. Here are some established paths, but feel free to make your own.
Before you go, visit the Confraternity of Saint James Bookshop. They print the most up-to-date Camino guides available in English. You'll get details on where to stay, terrain, distances, history, everything.
All of the links will bring you to detailed route descriptions provided by the Confraternity of Saint James.
Routes in Northern Spain
El Camino Frances/The French Route
The most commonly traveled route, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France (or Roncesvalles, Spain) to Santiago. Takes 4-5 weeks.
Camino del Norte/The Coastal Route
Runs from Irun on the France/Spain border, parallel to the sea along Spain's northern coast and turns toward Santiago in Galicia.
The Tunnel Route
This route that links the Camino del Norte to the Camino Frances.
The Camino Ingles
A route originally used by pilgrims arriving in Galicia by boat. Runs from Ferrol or A Coruna to Santiago.
Photo by kieto_parao via Flickr
Routes from Central and Southern Spain
If you dare to bare the heat...
The Via de la Plata
The most established of the southern Spanish routes. Runs north from Seville through Merida, Caceres and Salamanca, joining the Camino Frances in Astorga. It is also possible to travel directly to Santiago through Pueblo de Sanabria and Ourense in Galicia.
The Madrid Route
Runs northwest from Madrid to Sahagun, where it joins the Camino Frances.
The Camino Mozarabe
Runs northwest from Granada to Merida, where it joins the Via de la Plata. (And do you really need another excuse to go to Granada?)
The Camino de Levante
Winds from Valencia to Zamora, then: 1) To Astorga/Camino Frances; 2)straight through Galicia to Santiago; 3)west to Portugal, joining the Via de la Plata in Verin. Apparently this is a strenuous and seldom-traveled route...sounds fun!
Photo by teclasorg via Flickr
Portuguese Routes
The Camino Portugués
Travels north from Porto, along the Atlantic coast, enters Spain at Tui (Minho River) and continues north to Santiago. Can be started as far south as Sintra or Lagos.
The Camino Portugués de la Via de la Plata
A route that leaves the Via de la Plata in Zamora and heads west into Portugal. Passes through Braganca, Vinhais and Segirei, back into Spain, joins the Galician branch of the Via de la Plata until Santiago.
Photo by Jvverde via Flickr
French Routes
Le Puy Route
Well-traveled, well-developed route passing through Conques, Figeac, Cahors and Moissac before reaching St Jean-Pied-de-Port.
The Paris Route
The most northerly medieval route in France, via Orleans, Tours, Poitiers, St Jean-d'Angely, Bordeaux and Dax.
The Arles Route
Runs directly westward from Arles parallel with the Pyrenees, linking Montpellier, Lodeve, Castres, Toulouse and Auch: here it turns south-west to Oloron Sainte-Marie, and then south up the Gave d'Aspe to cross the Pyrenees by the Somport pass.
The Vézelay Route
via Bourges or Nevers to St Leonard-de-Noblat, then to Limoges and Perigueux before crossing the Dordogne river at Ste Foy-la-Grande. Thereafter via la Reole, Bazas, Mont-de-Marsan and Orthez to St Jean-Pied-de-Port.
Photo by CaminanteK via Flickr
Swiss/German Routes
(Three of many options seen in the map above)
Nurnberg to Konstanz
Starts in Nurnberg and leads southwest via Schwabach, Markt Heidenheim, Oettingen, Giengen, Ulm, Biberach, Bad Waldsee, Weingarten, Markdorf and Meersburg to Konstanz on the German-Swiss border. Jump in the lake, then continue along the Jakobsweg in Switzerland, see below).
The Swiss Route/Jakobsweg - Konstanz to Geneva
A route that will take you east to west through Switzerland, and continues on to Le Puy (see below)
Geneva to Le Puy
If you're a pilgrim coming from Switzerland, Germany, or Central Europe, this route will take you Le Puy.
The Legend
James the Apostle brought the word of Jesus to Spain, returned to Jeresulem and died as a martyr. His body was placed in a stone boat and carried by angels to northwest Spain, Finisterre, the end of the known world. From here, his remains were carried inland, buried in a marble tomb and forgotten.800 years later (9th Century AD), a hermit named Pelayo is led by a vision to a field of stars (campo-stella) and discovers the long-lost tomb. The local bishop officially recognizes the found remains as those of Saint James. Pilgrims flock to the site from all of Europe, and now, the World.
Pilgrim Communities
- Pilgrim Forum
- A very active Camino de Santiago forum. Great place to get answers to your pre-Camino questions.
- The Confraternity of Saint James
- A non-denominational association of former pilgrims, the confraternity publishes the Camino's definitive English-language guidebook. And it won't weigh down your backpack, either.
- American Pilgrims on the Camino
- New yet extremely well-run, this group organizes Pilgrim Gatherings across North America, publishes a magazine and "hopes to promote a positive American presence on the Camino."
- Asociacion de Amigos del Camino de Santiago
- Spanish-language site of a very active group of Pilgrims. Si hablas espanol, haz clic aqui!
- More
- A comprehensive list of Pilgrim organizations, courtesy of the Confraternity of Saint James.
Bookshelf
Travel From a Chair
- The Pilgrimage
- The Camino de Santiago transforms the author. By Paulo Coelho.
- The Canterbury Tales
- Not about the Camino de Santiago, but required reading for Pilgrims everywhere. This one's an especially fun translation. By Chaucer.
- Amazon Search: Camino de Santiago
- 120+ results. Dig through here, surprise yourself.
- Iberia
- Classic Michener work that will deepen any travel to Spain; he saves discussion of the Camino de Santiago for the final chapter. By James A. Michener
- King James Bible
- Who Saint James was and much, much more.
- Perceval: The Story of the Grail
- A journey into the unknown. "Essentially the story of the making of a knight, both in worldly and spiritual terms, it is also the source of some of the most dramatic and mysterious adventures of romance." -Amazon. Trans. by Burton Raffel
- The Power of Myth
- Follow your bliss. By Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers
- The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred
- Highly recommended. By Phil Cousineau
- The Way of a Pilgrim
- Classic Russian tale of a nineteenth-century peasant seeking the truth. (Featured in J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey.) By Walter J. Ciszek, Trans. Helen Bacovcin.
- Confraternity of Saint James Bookshop (Look here for guides!)
- CSJ prints the most up-to-date Camino guides available in English. Also a selection of books on the history and background of the pilgrimage.
Other Pilgrimages
- Machu Picchu
- The Machu Picchu Library - extensive information on the Inca High Road. Rumor these days says book WAY in advance with a guide if you plan to go there.
- The Shikoku Pilgrimage
- 1,000+ year-old pilgrimage to 88 temples on the Japanese island of Shikoku.
- The Hajj
- Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.
- Nipun and Guri's Walking Pilgrimage
- "We are profiling inspiring people, in the hopes that more goodness spreads in the world. And we are walking to increase our trust in the inter-connectedness of life; to that end, we sold our belongings and left with a one-way ticket to India on January 31st [2005]. After a few pilot experiments, we left the Gandhi Ashram on March 31st without knowing anyone, without having any resources, or without charting a path to walk."
- Via Francigena
- Route from Canterbury to Rome, nearly 2000km, looks fantastic.
- Pilgrim Road to Nidaros
- The way starts in Oslo and travels 650km to Nidaros. Also the source of terrible Norway puns.
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