Highlights of the Camino to Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

This is where the Way of St James ends, the long trek on the 9th century medieval pilgrimage route. Even if you don't actually hike much or don't at all it's worth popping into the town. It's the capital of Galicia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cathedral is where you should head. Pilgrim's come here for a daily noon time mass when they finish the camino as their countires of origin and starting point of their pilgrimage is announced. There's also a shrine here dedicated to St James who is said to be buried in the town.

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port / Camino Frances

This town lies at the base of the pass across the Pyrenees and is where routes from France meet before the arduous mountain crossing. Pied-de-Port actually means 'foot of the pass' in Pyrenean French. It's a small town with one main street, cobbled streets, 14th century churches, 15th century bridges and buildings with distinctive features from their early origins. From here to Santiago de Compostela is 780km and known as the Camino Francés. It is popular and crowded in summer.

Camino Inglés

The Camino Ingles is one of the shortest routes to Santiago but is still sufficient to attain the pilgrimage status. There are two starting points, the El Ferrol route is 110 km, the A Coruña route is only 75 km. This route was commonly used by people from Northern Europe who arrived by sea in Galicia. So officially you should start at the landing steps/sea gates in either Ferrol or A Coruña. This route is not as crowded as other ones and the countryside is more coastal and similar to Brittany or Cornwall. There is a bit of road walking near towns.

Camino Portugués

This 232km route starts at the cathedral in Porto (NW Portugal) and heads north to Spain following the Atlantic Coast. This track is an undulating journey through coastal districts and farming areas. You should drop in to all the churches along the way particularly in Porto and Tui and make sure you leave time in Caldas de Reis to soak in the thermal springs and relax your muscles. It might help with the final kilometres to Santiago!

Via de la Plata

The Via de la Plata is the longest pilgrim route in Spain, about 1000km in length and takes 6 weeks. It starts from Seville in Andalucia and heads north through Extremadura and Castilla y Leon to Salamanca and Zamora. From here there are two options to Santaigo, either via Astorga to join the Camino Francés or go more directly towards Santiago. The route has very few pilgrims, a great network of refugios, is rich in Roman remains, churches and monasteries. There are lots of interesting cities along the way to visit too.