Walking the Camino De Santiago

St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago De Compostela to Finisterre

The Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James) is a glorious 900km amble across the north of Spain, following an ancient pilgrimage route west to the magnificent cathedral at Santiago de Compostela. Tenth-century pilgrims braved bandits and wolves in their quest to revere the bones of St James, entombed in a silver casket in the cathedral. Ancient star-gazing Celts went this way too, following the Milky Way west towards the setting sun and the solar temple of Ara Solis at Finis Terrae, the end of the earth.
Today, pilgrims walk to Santiago and Finisterre for many different reasons. For some, making a pilgrimage to the Holy City is a lifelong dream borne out of religious faith. Others seek a break from daily routines or want to get back to a simpler way of living, and some want to immerse themselves in Spanish history and culture.

You needn't be a hard-core hiker to walk to Santiago, as the trails are well-maintained and ubiquitous yellow arrows make them easy to follow, and the journey is made easier and more sociable by a centuries-old infrastructure of albergues (pilgrim hostels).

On the way to Santiago, you'll pass through a multitude of Spains. You'll see gorgeous Romanesque churches decorated with grotesque gargoyles and elaborate frescoes, ethereal Gothic cathedrals with airy spires and vast interiors, and tiny ermitas (hermitages) tucked into cliff faces. There are colourful, riotous festivals, where you can dance to Galician bagpipes or watch crazy, traditional Basque sports like hoe-hurling. You'll find great bottles of Rioja, cheap and hearty three-course dinners, and regional specialities from white asparagus to spicy octopus.

There's spectacular wildlife, too, from wolves and bears that roam northern Spain's mountain ranges, to peculiar, plain-dwelling birds such as great bustards and hoopoes.

224 pages paperback