Caminantes

Camino myths, true or false: ten things pilgrims are told, checked

By August Frederik Kramer · Last updated 29 October 2026

True or false? Ten Camino myths

Ten things pilgrims are told. How many are true?

Ten things every pilgrim hears before setting off, each checked against a figure we measure. A few are true, most are not quite. Tap True or False, and every answer shows the number and the page that measures it.

Show all ten answers
  1. The Camino Francés is 800 km long. Mostly false
    Close, but shorter: from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago it is 768.6 km on our measured track. How long is the Camino? Ten routes, one honest answer each
  2. Sarria is 100 km from Santiago. False
    It is 114.4 km. The 100 km line falls 14.4 km after Sarria, so starting there leaves you room to spare. The last 100 km: one town misses the line by two hundred metres
  3. August is the busiest month on the Camino. False
    In 2025 it was September, with 81,534 pilgrims. August had 77,095. The Camino in August: 77,095 pilgrims, and no longer the busiest month
  4. The meseta is flat. Mostly true
    Nearly. From Burgos to León, 181.1 km, it climbs 5.9 m per km, under half the 13.6 m per km of the whole Camino Francés. Starting the Camino Francés at León? Every kilometre climbs more than the whole route does
  5. O Cebreiro is the highest point of the Camino Francés. False
    The top is 1,505 m, by the Cruz de Ferro, days before you reach O Cebreiro. The Cruz de Ferro is not the top of the Camino
  6. You need two stamps a day for the last 100 km. Mostly true
    Close, but that sentence is not in the rules. If you walk only the last 100 km, they ask for a stamp at the start and the end of each stage: 10 from Sarria over 5 stages. The credencial: 10 stamps from Sarria, and the rule everyone misquotes
  7. Most pilgrims start in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. False
    In 2025, 161,922 pilgrims set off from Sarria and 30,337 from Saint-Jean. The Camino has ten starting points, and two of them are not in Spain
  8. The Camino Primitivo is the steepest Camino. Mostly true
    Of the routes into Santiago, yes: 22.1 m of climbing per km. Only the short Camino Lebaniego, which ends elsewhere, is steeper, at 32.1. Which Camino is hardest? The ten ranked by climb per km
  9. The Camino Inglés is too short for the Compostela. False
    From Ferrol it is 110.5 km, 10.5 km more than the 100 km the Compostela asks for. The Camino Inglés is shorter than everyone says, and that changes where you can start
  10. The Camino del Norte is the hardest Camino. Partly true
    Partly. The Camino del Norte has the most climbing of any Camino, 14,663 m, but the Camino Primitivo has the steepest days, so both answers count. The Norte never gets above 708 m. It still climbs more than any other Camino
Free email lessons: the Spanish you need before your Camino

Five short emails, one a day: the albergue, the sello, dinner, asking the way, and what hurts. Two minutes each. It starts with the three lines below.

  • ¿hay camas libres?Are there free beds?
  • lo siento, está completoSorry, we are full.
  • ¿me puede poner un sello?Could you give me a stamp?
Try the free topic

One short lesson a day for five days, then only when there is something worth sending. Privacy notice.

How we checked

Every answer is a figure from one of our own pages: the GPS track of each route, our stage plan, and the Pilgrim’s Office counts for 2025. We call a claim mostly true or mostly false when the number comes close to it without matching it. Each answer links to the page that measures it, and changes when that page does.

Common questions

Is the Camino Francés 800 km?

Not quite. From Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago it is 768.6 km on our measured track.

Is Sarria 100 km from Santiago?

It is 114.4 km. The 100 km line falls 14.4 km after Sarria.

What is the busiest month on the Camino?

September. In 2025 it had 81,534 pilgrims, against 77,095 in August.

Keep reading

Water on the Camino Francés: where you can refill, and the longest stretch without

Every mapped drinking-water tap from Saint-Jean to Santiago on one ribbon. Tap anywhere and see how far it is to the next one.

Cash on the Camino: the longest stretch without a cash machine, on every route

Pick your route and see the longest stretch with no cash machine or bank, from OpenStreetMap and our stage plan, and how much cash that means carrying.

Rest days on the Camino: where to take one on each route

Pick your route and see where to rest: a town, not a village, right before the climbing. Tap any town to move a rest and watch your arrival date move.

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