Camino Aragonés

In short: Camino Aragonés: from Somport Pass to Puente la Reina. Length: around 165 km, duration: 6 to 7 days. Best time: May to October.

Overview

The Camino Aragonés leads from the Somport Pass in the Pyrenees via Jaca to Puente la Reina, where it joins the Camino Francés. It is the Spanish continuation of the Via Tolosana and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A special detour takes you to the monastery of San Juan de la Peña, built under an overhanging rock. Leyre Monastery and Sangüesa also lie on the way.

If you want to avoid the bustle on the first stages of the main route, start here. You can walk it in about a week, and the stages in the foothills are long in places.

Main stops: Somport Pass, Jaca, San Juan de la Peña, Leyre Monastery, Sangüesa, Puente la Reina.

The Pyrenean crossing of the Via Tolosana

You start at around 1,630 metres on the Somport and descend to Jaca with its Romanesque cathedral. The route then follows the River Aragón west. At the Yesa reservoir the landscape gets drier, and hot days become tiring.

A quiet alternative to Roncesvalles

The route fits well into a week and is much emptier than the beginning of the Francés. The albergues are small. The best way to get there is via Pamplona or Zaragoza and by bus to Jaca.

Planning your stages

How long you need depends on your daily distance. The table works this out for 165 kilometres, with one rest day a week.

Who is this route for?

With some hiking experience this route is very manageable. Expect climbs and keep your days from getting too long.

What does the route cost?

With an albergue or simple guesthouse and one hot meal, 40 to 50 euros a day is usually enough. Over about 10 days that comes to roughly 400 to 500 euros, plus travel and gear. This is a guide figure.

You can find more routes under Pilgrimage routes in Europe, Pilgrimage in Spain, sorted by religion under Christian pilgrimage routes.