Camino del Norte
30.8 km, 812 m up and 927 m down, through 8 places, 3 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Munitibar. 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.
After crossing the main square in Munitibar, the camino turns left at the church to follow the main road out of town, though only for a short distance. Less than 50m beyond the river it turns left up a side road, climbing up to and beyond the Ermita de Santiago. From the ermita it descends towards Olabe.
There are several points along this stretch of the road where you may see an errant arrow or two pointing in a direction which doesn’t feel like the camino. This is because in years past the camino followed a different route into Gernika. Follow the freshest arrows and the wooden post signs. The official camino passes the Albergue in Olabe, through the forest to the Iglesia de Santo Tómas. Shortly beyond the church is where the old camino kept to the right and downhill to the nearby village. It now turns left and heads uphill to Marmiz. Note: If you turned the wrong way at the church, and ended up back on the road, there is no need to retrace your steps. There are arrows in the next town which will direct you along the old route to Gernika, a blend of countryside and pedestrian walkways.
Elejalde is located 1 km off the camino on a marked trail to the left. There's no need to backtrack if you visit — the road from Elejalde rejoins the camino in Marmiz.
The camino barely touches Marmiz, skirting the edge of the settlement near the main road before turning right to traverse the hillside. The descent from here leads to Ajangiz.
The camino only touches the edge of town, nearing the main road but turning right before it gets to it. It climbs a bit and traverses the hillside before descending to Ajangiz.
In town the camino crosses the main road to cut through the square and around the church. It will make its way back to the road and follow it all the way down into Gernika, passing a small park just before arriving at the main road. Upon reaching the main road, the city of Gernika is to your left over the bridge but the private albergue is to your right and well signed.
Keep going straight after crossing the bridge into Gernika, following the road to where it ends at a large mural recreating Picasso’s famous painting depicting the city under bombardment. Turn left there, uphill and against traffic, passing the Iglesia de Santa María de la Antigua. A few buildings later you will turn right to pass between the park and the Convento de Santa Clara. When this road ends at a larger one, turn left. Further on keep left at the fork in the road, heading downhill to a roundabout.
At this point, you are surrounded by residential buildings on all sides. Go straight through the roundabout to the next one, and turn right when you get to it. Keep straight along this road, and straight again through the park when the road ends in a bend. Past the ermita in the park it is a left turn and a right immediately after, past the last of Gernika’s urban expansion and into the countryside. From here you begin to wind your way steeply up to the Alto de Morga.
Beyond Gernika the camino is without any services for 15km, pack accordingly.
You will arrive at the Alto at a large and fairly dangerous highway crossing. The way ahead is marked, and you are heading towards the signs marked Larrabetzu. After crossing the highway, turn left at the first junction, uphill. You will pass the small Ermita de San Esteban and return to a woodland setting. The next place with a name is Eskerika, but you would not recognize it for much more than a single building.
Mind the traffic at the Alto, which comes faster than expected.
Follow the arrows through this place, eventually descending to Goikolexea and the Iglesia de San Hemeterius and Celedonius at the entrance to town.
After passing the church and bar at the start of town the camino comes to the main road where it turns left and follows the road all the way to nearby Larrabetzu.
The camino turns right at the entrance to Larrabetzu, leaving the main road behind. In town it turns right and begins to follow a different road directly to Lezama.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 732 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 30.8 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.