Pilgrims on the road and friends along the way send me changes every day, and they go out the same day. The Camino Francés app carries all of it offline, and it's still being built — new features arrive routinely.
Get the appGetting here
The ground behind you: what the walk into Valcarlos crosses, and where it could have been broken.
Tomorrow from Valcarlos
Nothing says you have to stop here, or there. These are simply the towns within a comfortable day's walk, so you can decide tonight.
| Town | km from here | Shared | Private | The walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roncesvalles | 10.5 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | The walk from Valcarlos to Roncesvalles |
| Burguete | 13.1 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | The walk from Valcarlos to Burguete |
| Espinal | 16.8 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | The walk from Valcarlos to Espinal |
| Bizkarreta | 22.0 | — No | ✓ Yes | The walk from Valcarlos to Bizkarreta |
| Lintzoain | 23.9 | — No | ✓ Yes | The walk from Valcarlos to Lintzoain |
| Zubiri | 32.2 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | |
| Ilarratz | 35.0 | ✓ Yes | — No |
Valcarlos (Luzaide in Basque) is the main town on the valley route, sitting in a deep green gorge along the Nive de Arnéguy. It's a quiet, slightly faded border town with the essentials: a couple of bars, a small shop, a pharmacy, and a few accommodation options including the Albergue Municipal and several casas rurales.
The modern church is often locked. Most services are along the main road — if you've entered from the lower valley path, you may need to walk a short distance back toward Arnéguy to reach them.
This is where Charlemagne's rearguard was ambushed by Basque forces in 778, the historical event behind the Song of Roland. The narrow valley makes the tactical logic of the ambush immediately obvious.
Easter Sunday (Domingo de Resurrección) is celebrated with traditional Basque dancing and singing and draws a considerable crowd.
Leave town along the main road, eventually branching left onto a smaller road. Gañecoleta is less than 1 km from this junction. From there the serious climbing begins.
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.
