CaminantesWhich shoes for the Camino de Santiago? Start with the descending
By August Frederik Kramer, who has walked the Camino twice · Last updated 25 September 2026
Almost every shoe guide for this walk is written about climbing. The measurement says otherwise: the Camino Francés descends 10,355 m over its 768.6 km, and 20 of its 36 stages descend more than they climb. 3 of the 10 routes we measure descend more in total than they climb.
That matters because descending is the part that costs you. Going down drives the foot forward into the front of the shoe, over and over, for hours. It is the reason toenails go black on a walk with no climbing to speak of, and it is the question to answer before you buy anything.
How much descending each route actually is
Measured off the same tracks the app navigates by, sampled every 100 m. The last column is the one to read: total descent tells you what the trip does to a pair of shoes, and descent per kilometre tells you what a single day feels like.
| Route | Distance | Descent | Per km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camino Lebaniego | 66.5 km | 1,669 m | 25.1 m |
| Camino Primitivo | 306.6 km | 6,763 m | 22.1 m |
| Camino Invierno | 263.1 km | 5,228 m | 19.9 m |
| Camino Finisterre | 85.0 km | 1,646 m | 19.4 m |
| Camino del Norte | 831.6 km | 14,388 m | 17.3 m |
| Camino Inglés | 110.5 km | 1,553 m | 14.1 m |
| Camino Francés | 768.6 km | 10,355 m | 13.5 m |
| Camino Mozárabe | 419.0 km | 4,934 m | 11.8 m |
| Vía de la Plata | 994.6 km | 11,489 m | 11.6 m |
| Camino Portugués | 620.2 km | 6,302 m | 10.2 m |
The Camino Lebaniego is the steepest descending of the ten at 25.1 m per kilometre, and the Camino Portugués the gentlest at 10.2 m. In total metres the Camino del Norte takes the most punishment at 14,388 m, which is more descending than the Camino Francés has in it.
The hardest day down is not the hardest day up
On the Camino Francés the biggest climb is day 1, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Orreaga / Roncesvalles, at 1,351 m up. The biggest descent is day 26, Santa Marina de Somoza to Molinaseca: 982 m down over 27.4 km, which is 35.8 m of descending for every kilometre walked.
They are 25 days apart. A shoe chosen for the first morning in the Pyrenees is not the shoe day 26 asks for, and by then it has 768.6 km of wear in it. The steepest descending stage on any route we measure is on the Vía de la Plata, at 42.7 m per kilometre.
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What the measurement implies
Four things follow from the numbers above rather than from anybody’s opinion.
- Room in front of the toes. Descending slides the foot forward. Whatever fits perfectly in a shop on a flat floor is shorter than what you need on a 35.8 m per kilometre descent, which is why walkers commonly buy larger than their street size.
- A heel that stays put. If the heel lifts, the foot travels, and the toes take it. Lacing that locks the heel back does more on a long descent than any amount of cushioning under the arch.
- Sole stiffness is a trade. A stiffer sole is steadier on the loose, rocky descents the numbers above are made of, and it is heavier to carry for 768.6 km. Neither answer is wrong; the route you picked decides which way to lean.
- Break them in downhill. Flat pavement tells you nothing about the part that damages feet. Find a hill and walk down it repeatedly before you fly.
What this page does not do
It names no brand, no model and no size chart. We have not tested boots, those recommendations go stale within a season, and a page that carries them has to be re-verified every year or it quietly becomes wrong. What we can measure is the ground: 10,355 m of descending on the Camino Francés, 14,388 m on the Camino del Norte, and the per-kilometre figure for all ten. Take those to whoever fits your shoes. If your feet are already sore, the blister guide is the more useful page, and the packing list covers what goes in the pack rather than on your feet.
Common questions
Boots or trail runners for the Camino?
The measurement does not settle it, and anyone who says it does is selling something. It does frame it: the Camino Francés is 768.6 km with 10,355 m of descending, so weight on your feet is paid for thousands of times and stability is wanted on the way down. Trail runners win on the first count and stiff boots on the second. What the numbers do rule out is deciding on the basis of the climbs.
Should I buy a size bigger?
Most long-distance walkers do, and the reason is in the descent figures rather than in swelling alone. Day 26 of the Camino Francés drops 982 m over 27.4 km; every one of those metres pushes the foot towards the front of the shoe. Try shoes on late in the day, with the socks you will actually wear, and on a slope if the shop has one.
Which route is kindest to feet?
By descent per kilometre, the Camino Portugués at 10.2 m. The Camino Lebaniego is the hardest at 25.1 m per kilometre, though it is short. Distance and descent pull in different directions: the Camino del Norte has the most descending of any route at 14,388 m, and the Camino Portugués is long without being steep.
Do I need two pairs?
Plenty of people carry sandals for the evening, which is about rest rather than walking. Two pairs of walking shoes is weight you carry 768.6 km to solve a problem one well-fitted pair does not have. The training guide is where to find out which that is, before you are committed.
Keep reading
The Camino del Norte from Bilbao: 682.7 km, 33 stages, and flatter than the route
Six starting points on one measured track, from Irún to Ribadeo, with the climbing per kilometre from each. The first 148.9 km carry 27% of the route’s climbing on 18% of its distance, so where you start changes the walk more than the distance suggests.
The Camino in July: 67,013 pilgrims, and the year’s only dip
Fewer than June and fewer than August, which no other month the office counts separately manages, and with the second-longest days of the year: 15h 04m, measured.
The Camino in June: 74,043 pilgrims and 15h 19m of daylight, the most of any month
The brightest month of the year and only the fourth busiest. Every other page here measures its light against June, so this is the one that explains the yardstick.
Take it with you
Caminantes is free, works offline, and plans your stages around your own legs rather than a guidebook's.
