Camino del Norte
15.7 km, 522 m up and 635 m down, through 4 places, 2 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Askizu. 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.
At the far end of Askizu the camino forks at a house, turn right. The trail here affords excellent views of the sea. It will begin to descend, passing the Playa de Santiago far below. At sea level it rejoins the N-634 along a pedestrian walkway into Zumaia. The walkway bears right at the river to cross along a foot bridge. Once over the bridge it turns right through a small park to arrive at another footbridge over a different river and into the old town of Zumaia.
At the far end of Askizu the camino forks at a house, turn right. The trail here affords excellent views of the sea. It will begin to descend, passing the Playa de Santiago far below. At sea level it rejoins the N-634 along a pedestrian walkway into Zumaia. The walkway bears right at the river to cross along a foot bridge. Once over the bridge it turns right through a small park to arrive at another footbridge over a different river and into the old town of Zumaia.
Just over this second footbridge, the camino splits. The official camino continues straight ahead and upwards through town. The alternate route again follows the GR-121 by turning right. They rejoin within 3.5km. The alternate route, known as the Ruta de Flysch because it crosses the sedimentary rock formations characteristic of this coast, is way marked and passes the Ermita de San Telmo. Both routes pass a public restroom shortly before arriving in Elorriaga.
In Elorriaga the camino splits again. The GR-121 turns off to the right just before you get to the bar in town, and follows the coastline once more and in doing so it does not pass Itziar. The official camino follows the road out of Elorriaga, descending towards the N-634. Cross with care here, the traffic moves fast around the bend in the road. The camino continues up the road on the opposite side. The way is well marked and will bring you back around to meet and follow the N-634 (bar). At the bar it crosses over the AP-8 and continues along the N-634. Try to keep to the right-hand side along this stretch because the camino leaves the road to follow a quieter path on that side. It will again meet up with the N-634, this time at a large junction. The village of Itziar is on the hilltop on the opposite side of the N-634, the Santuario church tower is visible from a distance. Climb up the road into Itziar, following the most direct route to the church.
From Itziar the camino turns north to return to the sea at Deba. Past the church turn right at the first fork and follow the country lane. You won’t notice any more highways as you wind your way towards Deba, but they are none-the-less tunneling beneath you.
Lastur is a quiet mountain village about 5 km off the camino — too far for a casual detour, but the albergue here offers a peaceful alternative to the busier coastal stops. The owners will drive you back to the trail in …
The camino and the GR-121 alternate route meet in Deba near the ermita. The camino crosses the river along a footbridge near the train station and on the opposite bank turns right. A short distance later it crosses the road and just beyond that it turns left, going upwards once again along a combination of well marked roads and paths.Keep to the marked camino at this point, ignoring all other trails until you reach the Galbario Ermita.
Wave goodbye to the sea. It will be exactly 80km before it returns into view in Bilbao. Between here and there are several mountainous stretches.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 252 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 15.9 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.