Camino del Norte
25.7 km, 631 m up and 652 m down, through 5 places, 1 of which has somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Irún. 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.
Getting started in Irún is easiest from the train station or the municipal albergue, both are located in the Barrio San Miguel (though there is no church dedicated to the Saint).From the terminal head straight towards the dome of the nearby Iglesia San Gabriel and Santa Gema, passing the Correos (post office) along the way. Continue straight past the church to the first intersection with a traffic light, the Paseo Colon.From here you have two choices:1. The old town of Irún; turn right and over the tracks to get to most of the churches, parks, and hotels.2. The municipal albergue and the camino; turn left and you are officially on the camino. At the first roundabout the camino continues straight and heads under the overpass. Alternatively, turn right at the roundabout to get to the municipal albergue.When the opportunity to cross to the left-hand side presents itself do so; the camino turns left 500m ahead immediately after crossing the river.NOTE: If going to Hondarribia was your plan, keep going straight after the bridge. Once you have left the main road, the camino begins the climb, first on secondary roads and then on trails, to the Santuario de Guadalupe.
The name Irún is often confused with Irúña (the Basque name for Pamplona), something to keep in mind when booking tickets.Irún is also the starting point for the Basque Interior Camino, which travels southwest to join the Camino Francés in Santo Domingo de la Calzada or Burgos. Do not confuse the two, you are heading northwest from Irún.
Hondarribia sits across the Txingudi Bay from Irún and is worth the detour — or makes a perfectly good alternative starting point if accommodation in Irún is full. The old town occupies a fortified hilltop overlooking th…
The way from the Santuario splits into three, one road and two trails. There is a sign and a map illustrating the differences. The official camino follows a trail just to the south of the ridge line, while an alternative known as the Purgatorio Route follows along the ridge line. Both routes are through fairly remote mountainside. The Purgatorio route reaches 645m at the Jaizkibel peak and offers views of the ocean. The descent into town brings you directly to the main road, a narrow street that hugs the coastline. On your right is the small boat landing and the ferry across the harbor to San Pedro.
ATTENTION: Do not underestimate the steep climb of 600 meters to the summit of the Jazkibel, take plenty of water and something to eat with you and keep in mind that you will be on the way for several hours to the next place.
Pasajes de San Juan (Pasai Donibane in Basque) is one of the most unusual places on the entire Norte. The village is a single street wide, wedged between the harbor and the cliff, with houses stacked five stories tall an…
Once off the ferry, the official camino turns right while a road variant turns left. Turn right to follow the coastline to the sea, passing a boat yard along the way. Where the road ends, the path and climb (on steps) begins. At the top the camino returns to a paved road, turn right when it does and follow it until it widens into a parking lot for the nearby Faro de la Plata (straight ahead if you want to visit).
From the parking lot the camino turns left to return to a trail. Pay close attention to the various forks in the trail; although they are well marked there are many options through the forest.Along this stretch you will also see markings for the GR-121, a 300km circuit that shares ground with the Camino and on several occasions offers an alternative to the official camino.You will eventually come to a fork in the trail at a point where indeed the GR-121 turns right where the camino turns left. Both are acceptable, the GR follows the coastline through the forest while the camino joins the paved road. They converge before arriving in San Sebastián.NOTE: Only the camino path passes the Ulía albergue which is located on the hillside overlooking the city. The trail descends into San Sebastián, and where it meets the Avenida de Navarra the municipal albergue is on your right.
Turn right on the Avenida de Navarra towards the sea, the road follows it and you follow the road. You can walk in the sand of the Playa Zurriola if it suits you, the way ahead is evident as it crosses the bridge over the Río Uramea.Once over the bridge continue straight ahead, past the municipal gardens and towards the Playa de la Concha which you will follow all the way to its end. At the end of the beach cut across the park separating it from the road (Satrustegi) and turn right on the road towards the tree covered hillside ahead, and then left where it ends to follow the road signs to Igueldo.The Ondarreta Albergue is along this road, straight ahead and on your left-hand side. The camino, however, turns right off of the road before it arrives at the albergue. The way is uphill along a paved road which turns into a trail, twisting and turning all the way to the top. Before long you will be on a small paved road which connects with a larger one, and in front of you will be the gravel parking lot for the hotel Leku Eder, cut across it and walk past the hotel along the main road.NOTE: If you were to turn right at the parking lot, you could go uphill to visit Monte Igueldo. Follow the road as far as the next hotel, turning right at the sign for the Buenavista Hotel at the start of Igueldo.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 985 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 23.8 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.