One of the most beautiful hiking routes in the world - the Spanish pilgrimage route Camino de Santiago

A month before departure, I decided to hike Europe, choosing to take a road from France through the Pyrenees and then across northern Spain to the end of the world. I knew Camino because I read a book. The movie "The Way" mentioned in it was translated into "The Way of Pilgrimage" in Chinese. After watching it three times, I cried for the last time and decided to go this route.

What kind of road is it that attracts me so crazy! ? Part of it was because I wanted to learn Spanish, and the rest was the following story, although I'm not a Catholic, but his spirit and strength attracted me.

The end of this road is Santiago, a city in the northwest of Spain. It has thousands of routes. Every year, many pilgrims gather from all directions to Santiago, just like the Milky Way. , the center of the gathering of stars, so Santiago is also known as "Santiago de Compostela".

According to legend, in the ninth century AD, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus arrived in San Diego according to the direction of the stars, where he found the remains of St. Jac. Since then, it has become one of the important pilgrimage paths for Catholics. one. In this way, this road has been passed down from the Middle Ages to the present. The pilgrims who were originally religious at the beginning were walking. Now this road has brought together travelers from all over the world with their own stories and reasons. A great United Nations mountaineering route, very interesting!

Camino is also listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and it is one of the only four (Note 1) world heritage sites in the world that are "roads"! Because the world heritage is usually heard of buildings, but this is a heritage that stretches like a hundred kilometers! This alone is enough to convince me, and I heard that those who have traveled to hundreds of countries say that they have traveled so many places, but they are not comparable to such an ancient road, which is said to be the most beautiful and wonderful in the world. One of the roads is not an exaggeration!

In this way, one month before departure, I made a decision and bought a ticket immediately. Why? Because there is no way out for yourself!

Camino route introduction

As long as you step out of the house, you can start walking. Along the way, you meet someone walking from Switzerland, from Paris, from the Netherlands, from Germany, and even from Israel. Anywhere can be your starting point.

But now I want to introduce the more popular routes that most people choose to take, because there will be various consultations, accommodation and assistance provided by Camino related agencies or organizations along the way, and you can also meet travelers from different countries, unless you seek It is a sparsely populated and quiet journey. These journeys will allow you to meet many different people, and you can communicate, share and cheer with many people along the way.

In short, no matter which path you choose, Open your mind is the most important, because you will find many surprises.

Alright, let me introduce it directly. I listed seven main ones. I have walked two of them. The rest are from the real experiences of travelers from all over the world that I have met along the way in the past three months. It is for reference only, and the actual experience is the most realistic. You'll see anyway.

Grab a pen now and start planning your adventure!

1. Camino del Norte Northern Road / Napoleon Road

Route: San Sebastian—Santiago de Compostela

Distance: > 800 km

Before departure, all Taiwanese collected on the Internet described this road as the most thrilling, terrifying and physically exhausting and the most difficult road, but it could see the most beautiful scenery.

Later, when I got to Santiago, I started to meet a lot of people who had just finished this road, all of them girls around my age, all in their 20s, and all of them walked this road alone! After listening to their respective sharing, almost all said the same thing! To put it simply, this road is not difficult for them at all, although there are more uphills, and the number of people is pitiful, and the beautiful azure coast stretches all the way to the side, just walk down if you want to jump into the sea, Mountains and seas, the unparalleled beauty of the scenery, is the most attractive feature of this road, the beauty of loneliness and tranquility.

2. Camino Francés French Route

Route: St-Jean-Pied-de-Port—Santiago de Compostela

Distance: 764 km

This is the most popular of all the Camino routes and the main route I took this time. The whole road is like walking in the United Nations. Every day I meet travelers from all over the world. Everyone has different reasons and stories to go on the road. It is very exciting, and 90% of them are on the road alone. Meet some like-minded people who have the most cases.

This route also has the most signs, arrows, restaurants, bars, and accommodations along the way. Don't be too afraid of getting lost or starving to death. If you have a tent, you will be invincible in the world. The whole land is your home, and sometimes you don't even need a tent.

The main starting point of this route is SJPP (Saint-Jean pied de port) in southern France, and the most challenging first day will come on stage! Climb over the Pyrenees (you can choose to stay at the top of the mountain for a day, and the next day to challenge the endless downhill), then enter the northern border of Spain, all the way west to the Santiago Cathedral. I was continuing westward to Muxía, to the end of the European continent, also known as the end of the world – Fisterre (see next post).

3. Camino Finisterre Road to the End of the World

Route: Santiago de Compostela — Finisterre

Distance: 141 km

Start in the city of Santiago de Compostela, the main terminal, and continue northwest to Finisterre, known as the end of the world. In Roman times, when adventurers arrived here, they thought that this was the end of the world. "finis terre" means "end of the earth" in Latin. It was not until later that Coba da Roca in Portugal was called "the end of the earth". The discovery was at the westernmost point, but that didn't change the way people called Fisterre, which is still in use today.

According to legend, travelers who arrive at Finisterre must go to the beach, burn their clothes, spend the night on the beach, wash away your sins, and then the next day, you will be reborn as a brand new you.

And on the way to Finisterre, you will encounter two fork roads in different directions, one leads directly to Finisterre, and the other leads to another seaside town that is a little smaller than Finisterre - Muxía, and then I fell in love to this charming little town.

At that time, because of meeting a new friend in Korea, the original plan to go to Finisterre and then to Muxía was changed. I'm really grateful to her because she told me that many years ago she met an Italian boy when she was walking the French road. He walked through the Camino countless times, and he also took these two fork roads to the end of the world. However, my favorite is the one that leads to Muxía first. There are few people along the way, and it passes through the quiet and incomparable mountains and forests, which is especially dreamy and peaceful.

Because many people only know Finisterre, after all, he is a famous town, so most people only plan to visit Finisterre and end their journey, not knowing that there is a very charming and less touristy about 20 kilometers away from him. small town ─ Muxía.

4. Camino Inglés British Road

Route: Ferrol / A Coruña — Santiago de Compostela

Distance: 121.6 + 33.6 km

I only found out about this road when a French friend I met in Santiago at the time told me that he was going to do it.

Later, on the way to the Camino Finisterre, I met an Italian couple who had just walked the road and told me this was a great road! Although it is only a short 100 kilometers, the starting city ─ Ferrol is a very beautiful coastal town, and some people will choose to start from the larger city ─ A Coruña, but this is less than 100 kilometers. , so you can't get a pilgrimage completion certificate after walking this road.

You can see the beautiful coastline along the way, and then continue to cross the mountain trails and pass through lovely and charming towns. Although there are not as many towns as the French Road, it is also a road recommended by pilgrims who have walked through it, especially for Those travelers who don't have much time to walk, but want to complete a pilgrimage route.

5. Camino Portugués

Route: Lisboa/Porto — Santiago de Compostela

Distance: > 100 km ~ 300 km

The Portuguese road has many branches, the longest basically starts from Lisboa (Lisbon), but all the pilgrims I have met who have walked all the way from Lisboa suggest not to start from here, but directly from Santiago 300 It is the most worthwhile to start walking around Porto. Because the distance from Lisboa to Porto is almost a rocky road that is difficult to walk, even if it is easy to cause blisters on the feet, the scenery is not very beautiful, and there are few indicators and accommodation points along the way, unless you don’t believe it or feel that it doesn’t matter , then you can still challenge it.

There is a phenomenon on the Portuguese road, that is, the most people go from the city of Tui, and they are all in groups, and almost no one walks alone. Because Tui is only about 100 kilometers away from Santiago, you can get the Compostela (certificate, which will be introduced later), so many locals take advantage of the holidays to go on the road together. If you want more solitude and quiet surroundings, you might want to avoid this route, or you'll have to put up with this "busy" road.

In short, if you decide to take the Portuguese road, you must stop in the magical and beautiful town of Porto for a few days. It is definitely worth it, but don't forget that you may have to stay early in the peak season. In terms of food, not only the food here is cheaper, but also more delicious, and even the accommodation is much cheaper! Seafood and wine are the specialties here, and I heard that they are more delicious and delicious than those in Spain! The point is, because here is another town with small bridges and rivers, it is romantic and people want to settle directly!

6. Vía da la Plata Silver Route / Southern Route (1,000 km)

Route: Sevilla - Santiago de Compostela

Distance: 1,000 km

A Spanish shop owner shared with me at the time that he took all the main routes on the Camino and this was his favorite! Starting from the city of Sevilla in the south, going all the way to the north, running through the north and the south, you can see the different ethnic customs and characteristics of the north and south of Spain. Yes, very interesting!

If you want to fully experience the Spanish style, don't hesitate to choose this one and go straight to the road!

7. Camino Le Puy (all in France)

Route: Le Puy en Velay - St Jean Pied de Port

Distance: 730 km

Heard that there is one more fascinating than all other Camino routes! There are few people along the way, and the food is Southern French flavor, which is very delicious. There is only one disadvantage, that is, the room and board is a little more expensive than Spain! But in fact, this is not a problem. On the road, I met some friends who traveled through these roads without money. Attitude is the key. Exchanging work for accommodation, work for food, etc. are all good ways to travel. .

In a word, don't hesitate, put it directly on the travel list!

These are all shared by myself and others, mainly for your reference! Because after all, the people, things and experiences that everyone encounters must be different, so it’s right to go! It's time to create your own adventure!

Note 1: Thank you netizen Dylan Huang for adding that there are four world heritage sites related to "roads" in the world.

(1) Inca road system in South America

(2) El Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James

(3) Silk Road (Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor)

(4) Japan's "Ki Mountain's Priest Field and Visiting Road"

Author: little sweet potato

IG: @hanjichiu

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External image source for this article:

1. Main routes in San Diego: by Duane Storey

2. The Road to the North / Napoleon's Road: by Caminanre si hay camino

3. A view of the Camino Inglés British Road

4. Camino Portugués Portuguese Route – Oporto Town: Shutterstock

5. Vía da la Plata Silver Route / Southern Route

6. Le Puy Image Credit