Routes of the Camino de Santiago

Planning Camino de Santiago for the traveler who wants to face this adventure begins with a simple but important question: what route we choose? This decision will mark our experience as pilgrims, as among the most popular routes we can choose, has nothing to do with a trip to the the Northern Way, between coast and mountains, compared with a trip through the French Way, through the inside and much trodden by pilgrims.

The French Way, the most commonly used route

There are multiple options to address the Camino de Santiago, with routes that pass virtually all the geography of the peninsula and not just the north of it, contrary to what many believe. However we could reduce to five the most popular routes or traveled by pilgrims from all over the world: the French Way, the Northern Way, the Primitive Way, the Portuguese Way and the English Way, although of course there are other alternatives.

Undoubtedly the most popular and busiest route of all is the French Way, whose starting points are found in Roncesvalles and Somport. It is the way par excellence, traditionally used by pilgrims from all over Europe to reach Santiago and network services, accommodations and most complete of all signaling. We find your path passing through a wealth of history, although it should be taken with philosophy massification of this route at certain points, especially at the end of its travel.

The North Road, the route of the Cantabrian Mountains

Not so crowded, but very popular route is the Northern Way, pilgrims path originally used in the Middle Ages to avoid the Muslim kingdoms on his way to Compostela. With starting point in Irún, the pilgrim will cross the Asturian-Galician coastline with inclement weather and altitude as main obstacles on the road, stepping down in Ribadeo, Galicia. On arrival to the city of Oviedo, the road forks into two, pilgrims can follow the Camino Primitivo, which takes us inside.

The Primitive Way is another option to find the pilgrims. Despite being the much shorter route than other routes, with starting point in Oviedo and passing places like A Fonsagrada, its demand should not be taken lightly. It is a route of great beauty, and therein lies the honor of being the original path traveled by the first pilgrims, King Alfonso II, on his way to Compostela to the grave of the apostle Santiago. His popularity moved to the French Way in the Middle Ages by the phenomenon of the Reconquista has not meant that this route is lost, fortunately.

The Portuguese Way, with starting point in Lisbon

If we decide to do the Camino de Santiago from Portuguese lands, we always have the option of making the Portuguese Way, with starting point in Lisbon, crossing the atlantic country from south to north and crossing the River Minho to enter Galicia by Tui, visiting more later Pontevedra and localities as Padron, before reaching Santiago. Finally, we found one of the most popular routes the English Way, frequented in the Middle Ages by pilgrims English, Scottish, Irish, Scandinavian or Flemish to reach Santiago through the port of A Coruña. We can expect a well-signposted but with a certain lack of services and accommodation compared to other routes too little crowded path. The English Way has two variants, from A Coruña (Camiño do Faro) and from the town of Ferrol.