The Camino from Roncesvalles to Santiago: the Camino Francés without the Pyrenees day

Roncesvalles, the first town in Spain on the Camino Francés, is 35 days and 742.7 km from Santiago on our plan, and the walk climbs 9,093 m. Starting here leaves out one day, the crossing of the Pyrenees from Saint-Jean, and that one day is 3% of the route’s distance but 13% of its climbing.

What leaving out day one changes

Day one of the Camino Francés, Saint-Jean to Roncesvalles, is 25.9 km with 1,351 m of climbing: the steepest day of the whole route. Start in Roncesvalles and the walk is 3% shorter but 13% lower in total climbing, and from here it climbs 12.2 m per kilometre, against 13.6 for the route from Saint-Jean. You also walk 35 days instead of 36. What you give up is the day itself: the crossing many pilgrims remember best.

The Pyrenees day on its own, with where to stop halfway: Saint-Jean to Roncesvalles.

35 days, 21.2 km a day

From Roncesvalles our plan has 35 days, 21.2 km a day on average. The longest is day 7, Logroño to Nájera, 29.3 km. The steepest is day 28, Trabadelo to La Laguna de Castilla: 616 m up, 38.3 m per kilometre, the climb towards O Cebreiro. Over the whole walk you climb 9,093 m, about one and a half times the height of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 m, climbed from the sea.

Every stage of the Francés from Saint-Jean, one by one: the stages guide.

Two days less, starting with the Alto del Perdón: the Camino from Pamplona.

The way there: the meseta, the high point, O Cebreiro

Days 13 to 21, Burgos to León, are the meseta: 181.1 km of high, flat plateau. The route’s high point, 1,505 m, comes on day 25, between Santa Marina de Somoza and Molinaseca. O Cebreiro, at 1,293 m and the first village in Galicia, is reached on day 29. On day 31, out of Sarria, you cross the 100 km line that the Compostela asks for.

The meseta, walked from Burgos: Burgos to Santiago. The last big climb, metre by metre: O Cebreiro.

How busy it is: quiet, then Sarria

3,873 people set out from Roncesvalles in 2025, the 18th of the 20 starts the Pilgrim’s Office lists; Saint-Jean had about 7.8 times as many. Most of the people walking out of Roncesvalles started in Saint-Jean the day before. In September about 175 people a day are on the path out of Roncesvalles, and from day 31, out of Sarria, 1,104: 6.3 times as many.

The last days from Sarria have their own page: Sarria to Santiago.

Know these words before your Camino. Spanish is preparation, the same as boots and stages. Try the free topic

Every day from Roncesvalles

Distances and climbing from our own track and stage plan, the same figures as the stages guide and the route page. Places to sleep from map data, so read them as places, not beds. People a day: the Pilgrim’s Office’s 2025 starts, spread over the months the way all Compostelas were.

Common questions

How long is the Camino from Roncesvalles to Santiago?

742.7 km in 35 days on our plan, 21.2 km a day on average, with 9,093 m of climbing.

Is it worth starting in Roncesvalles instead of Saint-Jean?

It saves one day, 25.9 km, and 1,351 m of climbing, the steepest day of the route. What you give up is the crossing of the Pyrenees itself. From Roncesvalles the walk climbs 12.2 m per kilometre, against 13.6 from Saint-Jean.

How many people start in Roncesvalles?

3,873 in 2025, according to the Pilgrim’s Office, against about 7.8 times as many in Saint-Jean.

Do I get the Compostela if I start in Roncesvalles?

Yes. The Compostela asks for the last 100 km on foot, and the walk from Roncesvalles is 742.7 km. You cross the 100 km line on day 31, out of Sarria.

Keep reading

Take it with you

Caminantes is free, works offline, and plans your stages around your own legs rather than a guidebook's.

All guides · Compare all 10 Camino de Santiago routes