Camino Francés
21.7 km, 296 m up and 717 m down, through 7 places, 4 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Roncesvalles. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.
The camino starts on a path to the west of the main road, heading into beech forest before returning to the road as you approach Burguete. It's a gentle, flat walk of about 3 km — a merciful start after the mountain.
A stone pilgrim cross on the roadside between Roncesvalles and Burguete, set among the beech trees. A traditional spot to pause, though there's nothing here beyond the cross itself and the quiet forest.
Watch carefully through town — the camino takes a sharp right turn about halfway through. There are plenty of arrows marking it, but distracted walkers still miss it. The route continues on flat terrain toward Espinal.
Espinal (Aurizberri in Basque) is a compact village in the valley of the Erro river, with a couple of bars, a small albergue, and a welcoming atmosphere. Between here and Pamplona you'll notice villages perched above the…
A gentle pass between Espinal and Bizkarreta. The climb is modest and the terrain wooded. No services, but a pleasant stretch of walking through mixed forest.
Bizkarreta-Gerendiáin is the next valley village, with a few bars including El Dragón Peregrino which has vegetarian and vegan options — a rarity this early on the Francés. A small supermarket sits at the far end of town…
Follow the arrows through town — they direct you right and uphill. Don't continue straight to the main road (N-135); that's the wrong way. The climb out of Lintzoain is fairly steep but flattens out through forest, bringing you to the Alto de Erro.
The bar has irregular hours and is not reliably open. Carry supplies from Bizkarreta or Espinal.
The descent drops steadily through forest to the valley floor. Zubiri sits adjacent to the camino but not strictly on it — you'll reach a bridge over the Río Arga. You don't need to cross if you're pressing on, but if you're stopping, cross and head into town. When leaving, retrace your steps over the bridge and turn right.
The descent from here to Zubiri has been paved over and is not longer as slippery as it once was. The steepness remains the same!
Zubiri is the first town of any real size after the Pyrenees crossing, sitting in the valley of the Arga river. It's a working town rather than a tourist one — a Magnesitas factory dominates the approach — but it has the…
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 259 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 21.7 km.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.