What to expect: the terrain and challenges of Spain’s Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago is one of the most famous pilgrimage routes in the world. It’s made up of several distinct sections, each offering a unique experience. Understanding the terrain, elevation and challenges of each section can help you decide which section to walk. Or you may choose to walk the full length of the Camino – highly recommended!

Below is a summary of what to expect.

• Read more: How difficult is the Camino de Santiago?

St Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona

The first section of the Camino Frances includes some of the most strenuous walking of the whole Camino. Specifically, the very first day. Although there are places with higher elevation further on, the gradient and the continuous incline as you walk over the Pyrenees mountains makes for a tough day for most people, especially as at this stage of your journey you will likely not be ‘trail fit’.

The first day starts from an elevation of 170m at St Jean Pied de Port, and climbs to the highest point at Col de Lepoeder at 1450m, before descending for almost 500m into Roncesvalles. The persistence of the climb becomes part of the adventure, making the experience even more enriching.

The first half of the day’s walk follows a quiet country road before turning into a walking path across the mountain, and it is possible to break this challenging first day down to 2 shorter days by using a shuttle bus service. Ask us for more information if this interests you.

The descent into Zubiri a couple of days later is also worth being prepared for. From Alto de Terro there is a 3.5km downhill stretch into town that is on slanted rocks that can be quite treacherous in the wet. An alternative is to take the road, but road walking is generally not recommended because of fast-moving vehicles and the lack of pedestrian infrastructure. Plus, taking the road will increase your mileage.

As you come in to Pamplona there is a lot of pavement walking, which is much harder underfoot than nature trails. It is unavoidable unless you opt to hail a taxi for the last few kilometres.

• Read more: Walking the first stage of the Camino – St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

Pamplona to Logroño

After departing Pamplona, the section to Logroño starts off with another, albeit shorter, climb to Alto del Perdon (750m). This follows a narrow path up the mountain that, when raining, can become somewhat of a river down the middle of the trail. Similarly, coming down the other side is on a very rocky path. It’s much wider than the path up but can still be treacherous, especially in unfavourable conditions; walking poles are recommended for this descent. There’s no way to avoid this and you just have to manage as best you can if there are adverse weather conditions, unless you choose to take a local taxi from Pamplona to skip this entire section.

After leaving Estella a couple of days later there is an option to choose your own adventure by following one of two trails – either the busier main Camino path which will take you on an ascent to Monjardin at 690m, or an alternative quieter ‘green route’ through pretty forests up to the summit of Alto Panorama at 720m. Both paths converge shortly afterwards. There will be other options throughout your Camino journey where you will be able to choose between two different paths, and these will be marked in our RAW navigation app and also should be marked in your guidebook if you have one.

There is a little elevation for the remainder of this section but nothing too dramatic and by now you should be quite trail fit! You are entering into the wine-growing country so vineyards become more prominent and farmyards also become more common. There is very little shade on these days so come prepared. Walking is predominantly on nice country roads and paths and is very pleasant with some gorgeous views, although some days have longer distances. We can break down some of these longer walking days by adding a night in between, which is recommended especially if you will be walking in warmer weather.

• Read more: Wine of the Camino de Santiago

Logroño to Burgos

This is where you really enter the famous wine-making region of La Rioja. While it can be delightful walking with wide country paths with lovely scenery, if you’re unfortunate enough to hit this section when it’s raining there’s a challenging obstacle to negotiate – mud! I’m not talking about your ‘run of the mill’ mud that you can just wipe off. This is more like clay that clings to your shoes as if its life depended on it! You can wipe it off but after a few steps you’ll have another inch or two clinging to your feet. There’s very little that can be done about it apart from avoiding the worst patches. But if you are lucky enough to get dry weather, this section has some very enjoyable walking.

There are a couple of more challenging parts in this section to keep you on your toes though. For example, after Villafranca Montes de Oca the trail takes walkers on a somewhat difficult climb up to Alto Pedraja at 1100m, and as you get closer to Burgos there is a significant amount of ‘pavement pounding’ as you are heading into the city, although you can choose to take the alternative ‘green route’ for the last 4km into the city. This alternative path follows the river through parklands, avoiding the outer suburbs and industrial areas, and is a much more pleasant way to enter Burgos city centre.

• Read more: What to wear walking the Camino

Burgos to León

This section of the Camino is commonly referred to as The Meseta. It’s almost exclusively flat, with just a few very short sharp uphill or downhill bursts. It’s predominantly on wide country paths, making for some comparatively easy walking. You will be surrounded by rolling fields here with very little of interest, with hardly any trees or other vegetation to speak of. Make sure you have sun protection and cover up here, as there is precious little shade. Distances are long and towns and villages are few and far between, so you should always ensure you are well prepared and have enough food and water for the day ahead.

Because of the lack of external stimuli, this section is often considered the ‘contemplative section’.  As you have nothing to distract you, you turn your thoughts inwards. If you are time-restricted, this section is often one that people will often decide to skip. It’s a shame because you can have some real epiphanies here, but it makes sense because other sections have more of interest to see and do. If you prefer to miss this section there is usually a daily direct train between Burgos and Leon that takes just over an hour.

• Read more: Should you skip the Meseta on the Camino de Santiago?

León to Sarria

This is my favourite section. However departing León, which is technically still part of the Meseta, for the first almost 10km there is some tedious walking through suburbs and industrial areas, although many people choose to take a transfer (which we can arrange to include at the time of booking) or a local taxi to La Virgen del Camino to skip this less enjoyable section – this is definitely recommended!

Once outside the city limits you start to climb into the mountains where you are rewarded with some stunning scenery. The actual walking is on varied surfaces, with road walking mixed with country lane walking, mountain paths and narrow rocky descents. It’s also a section that has some truly delightful towns and historic cities – Astorga, Molinaseca, Villafranca del Bierzo and O Cebreiro, to name a few. One of the most iconic sites of the entire Camino is the Cruz de Ferro where you lay a stone at the base of a pole. This is actually the highest point of the whole Camino at 1505m.

Being in the mountains, there are obviously a couple of tricky stretches to keep in mind. Firstly, after reaching the highest point at the Cruz de Ferro, there is a narrow, rock-filled path that descends steeply into Molinaseca. At the end of a long walking day this can be quite treacherous, and I have seen some pilgrims with damaged knees caused by this descent. Like Zubiri at the start, there is the option to walk on the road – this is quite delightful and adds little to the mileage, but it gives you the opportunity to take in the stunning scenery rather than having to keep your eyes down to negotiate the rocky path.

The climb into O Cebreiro can also be challenging as it’s approximately 10km uphill along a narrow mountain path. It’s not as taxing as the climb out of St Jean Pied de Port and our itineraries mostly keep this day to just 10km, meaning you can really take your time. And you are eventually rewarded by arriving in the stunning village of O Cebreiro made almost exclusively from bluestone, a gorgeous little hamlet in the mountains where the Camino enters Galicia.

• Read more: Camino Frances Stage 4 – León to O Cebreiro

Sarria to Santiago

This is the final section of the Camino Frances, and consequently the most popular. If you have been walking for hundreds of kilometres and especially if you have walked all the way from St Jean Pied de Port, you need to prepare yourself for what can be a shock at the influx of excited new pilgrims joining here, many in groups and kitted out in brand new hiking gear!

In this section the walking is mostly on lovely earthen paths that are well-worn with few hazards, and country lanes through a nearly continuous stream of little hamlets. The walking is comparatively easy and not technical at all, and there isn’t much elevation to speak of. What little there is is mostly on a gentle rise or steady ascents and descents on clearly marked and well-trodden paths often with shade cover. While the surrounding vistas aren’t as spectacular as on the more mountainous sections of the Camino earlier on, the walking itself is quite delightful. In this section we also have the most options to add in extra nights between towns for less experienced hikers and those who prefer shorter daily hiking distances.

• Read more: Two weeks on the Camino – Sarria to Santiago highlights

In summary

All in all, there is a lot of variation to the Camino Frances, depending on which section you are walking, which is to be expected as it spans almost 800km across Spain. If you do not have time to tackle the entire route and are still not sure which section you should walk, contact us to speak to one of our Camino destination experts who can help you with your decision.

If you will be walking the full length of the Camino there will undoubtedly be times when you’re walking into driving rain with mud-covered boots, other days in warm sunshine hoping for some patches of shade, while other times you will be walking in perfect weather through stunning scenery that just makes you glad to be alive. My recommendations are to come prepared (a proper rain coat is my one essential), and to take each day as it comes without worrying too much about what’s up ahead. Every day is an adventure!

Why choose RAW Travel for your Camino?

RAW Travel is Australia’s leading Camino operator. We take care of all the details: accommodation, luggage transfers, maps, breakfasts and transport. You can just relax and concentrate on your Camino knowing you have a secure booking each night with luggage transfers, so all you carry is your daypack. We have our own ground managers in-country at key points along the Camino to give you any assistance you might need it. We can vary the length of stages and find the accommodation that best suits your individual needs and budget.

• View all our walks on the Camino Frances