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Best Pilgrimage Hikes in Spain

505 routes in Spain qualify, ranked below by how much walkers rate them. They average 45.4 km and 885 m (2,904 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 961 km.

That is 10 percent of the 4,951 routes we map in Spain. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 45.4 km against 20.4 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 885 m (2,904 ft) on average versus 507 m (1,663 ft) across the wider area.

Historic pilgrim ways come with waymarking, infrastructure and a rhythm built up over centuries of use. The mix is broad: 120 are rated easy and 222 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day.

Trails

Al Oeste del Guadarrama
Expert

Camino Natural del Tajo

Aragon · Spain

Distance
961 km
/ 597 mi
Elevation gain
4,596 m
Typical duration
235 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
Bierge, Huesca, Spain
Expert

Camino de Santiago por Huesca

Aragon · Spain

Distance
246 km
/ 153 mi
Elevation gain
2,196 m
Typical duration
61 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Cerro de Medinaceli (Soria).
Expert

Camino del Cid (Senderista)

Aragon · Spain

Distance
923 km
/ 574 mi
Elevation gain
3,883 m
Typical duration
225 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Camino Natural Anaga-Chasna

Teide National Park · Canary Islands

Distance
84.5 km
/ 52.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,860 m
Typical duration
22 hr
  • Volcano
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Used, Zaragoza, Spain
Expert

Camino de Santiago de Sagunto

Aragon · Spain

Distance
296 km
/ 184 mi
Elevation gain
1,211 m
Typical duration
71 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
El Bocal -Fontellas.Navarra.
Expert

Camino Jacobeo del Ebro

Aragon · Spain

Distance
231 km
/ 143 mi
Elevation gain
480 m
Typical duration
55 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Velilla de Cinca - Ermita de San Valero (románico)
Expert

Camí Català per Lleida

Aragon · Spain

Distance
170 km
/ 105 mi
Elevation gain
955 m
Typical duration
41 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Interior de la nave desde los pies de la iglesia.
Hard

Camino Aragonés por San Juan

Aragon · Spain

Distance
20.4 km
/ 12.7 mi
Elevation gain
870 m
Typical duration
5 hr 43 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Villanúa, España
Moderate

Camino Aragonés

Aragon · Spain

Distance
7.2 km
/ 4.5 mi
Elevation gain
96 m
Typical duration
1 hr 38 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Aragón, España
Expert

Camino de la Jorgeada

Aragon · Spain

Distance
76.5 km
/ 47.6 mi
Elevation gain
227 m
Typical duration
18 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Entrée espagnole du tunnel de Bielsa , Fr-65- Aragnouet .
Moderate

Camino al Puerto Viejo de Bielsa

Aragon · Spain

Distance
5.6 km
/ 3.5 mi
Elevation gain
309 m
Typical duration
1 hr 37 min
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Entrée espagnole du tunnel de Bielsa , Fr-65- Aragnouet .
Hard

Camino al Puerto de Salcorz

Aragon · Spain

Distance
4.4 km
/ 2.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,009 m
Typical duration
2 hr 26 min
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Camino Schmidt

Parque Nacional de la Sierra de Guadarrama · Castile and León

Distance
8.9 km
/ 5.5 mi
Elevation gain
196 m
Typical duration
2 hr 9 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Puertos de Áliva - Fuente De

Picos de Europa National Park · Cantabria

Distance
13.5 km
/ 8.4 mi
Elevation gain
296 m
Typical duration
3 hr 15 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Amanecer en Estós
Moderate

Camino de la Coma

Aragon · Spain

Distance
9.5 km
/ 5.9 mi
Elevation gain
824 m
Typical duration
3 hr 13 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Casa Juste (Benasc)
Moderate

Camino Benasque-Cerler

Aragon · Spain

Distance
3.0 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
416 m
Typical duration
1 hr 15 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
House, so to speak, birthplace of Saint Francis Xavier, patron saint of Navarre and close associate of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus.
Moderate

Camino de Santiago

Aragon · Spain

Distance
12.5 km
/ 7.7 mi
Elevation gain
366 m
Typical duration
3 hr 9 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Via Ferrata de Sacs cerca de Benasque
Easy

Camino de La Ball

Aragon · Spain

Distance
3.0 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
6 m
Typical duration
39 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Palau fortificat dels comtes de Ribagorça (Benasc)
Moderate

Camino del Rigau

Aragon · Spain

Distance
2.2 km
/ 1.4 mi
Elevation gain
120 m
Typical duration
38 min
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Northern Route (Asturia)

Asturias · Spain

Distance
273 km
/ 169 mi
Elevation gain
6,001 m
Typical duration
73 hr
  • Coastal
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Northern Route (Cantabria)

Asturias · Spain

Distance
185 km
/ 115 mi
Elevation gain
4,074 m
Typical duration
49 hr
  • Coastal
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Northern Route (Galiza)

Asturias · Spain

Distance
156 km
/ 97.1 mi
Elevation gain
3,437 m
Typical duration
41 hr
  • Coastal
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros

Galicia · Spain

Distance
242 km
/ 150 mi
Elevation gain
5,322 m
Typical duration
65 hr
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Camino Francés - 04 Burgos a León

Castile and León · Spain

Distance
176 km
/ 109 mi
Elevation gain
3,872 m
Typical duration
47 hr
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

English Way

Galicia · Spain

Distance
113 km
/ 70.4 mi
Elevation gain
2,492 m
Typical duration
30 hr
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Moderate

Camino del Bajo Guadalentín

Region of Murcia · Spain

Distance
10.2 km
/ 6.3 mi
Elevation gain
448 m
Typical duration
2 hr 48 min
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Aran Pirineos. Camino de SantiagoAragon245 km4,295 m64 hrExpertJune to October
Camino Natural del TajoAragon961 km4,596 m235 hrExpertJune to October
Viejo Camino de Santiago por el Valle de Hecho - Calzada del Summo PyreneoAragon51.1 km781 m12 hrExpertJune to October
Camino de Santiago por HuescaAragon246 km2,196 m61 hrExpertApril to October
Camino del Cid (Senderista)Aragon923 km3,883 m225 hrExpertApril to October
Camino del Maestrazgo-Bajo AragónAragon281 km3,340 m71 hrExpertApril to October
Camino Natural Anaga-ChasnaTeide National Park84.5 km1,860 m22 hrExpertOctober to May
Camino natural de Ebro - Tramo centralAragon275 km1,471 m67 hrExpertApril to October
Camino de Santiago de SaguntoAragon296 km1,211 m71 hrExpertApril to October
Camino Jacobeo del EbroAragon231 km480 m55 hrExpertOctober to May

If you only have time for one, start with Aran Pirineos. Camino de Santiago, Camino Natural del Tajo, Viejo Camino de Santiago por el Valle de Hecho - Calzada del Summo Pyreneo. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

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