Do you have a favorite Camino tree?

[VNwalking]

The subject of camino trees came up in a chat with another Forum member, and we both thought it would be fun for everyone if there was a thread about our favorite trees along the way, or even in Santiago.

My personal favorite is this gorgeous chestnut on the Invierno, between Villavieja and Castillo de Cornatel.


A tree I haven't met yet (but want to) is easier to find: the giant Pohutukawa in A Coruña.

Thread 'For Kiwis (and lovers of special trees)'

Dec 7, 2021

Are you walking the Ingles or planning to visit A Coruña before heading home?

Here, courtesy of Google Maps, is a total wonder - an absolutely immense Pohutukawa. It has a pointer all its own on the map!

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

goo.gl

You can find it behind a police station (of all places), a 12 or 13 minute walk from the Igrexa de Santiago, where the arm of the Ingles from A Coruña begins. The directions tell me it takes as much time to walk as to take the bus.

So if you want to feel a little more at home before you set off - or just want to make a botanical...

• VNwalking

• 
• 
• 

I've discovered a few others from this link:

Ten of the most amazing and interesting trees to visit in Spain - Olive Press News Spain

TREES are one of the most breathtaking natural wonders in our world and Spain has its fair share of truly exceptional ones. The Olive Press takes a look

www.theolivepress.es

Among them, a few that are relatively close to a camino route:
1. Tejo milenario de San Cristobal de Valdueza
Between El Acebo on the Francès and Penalba - quite a detour, but also quite a tree.

El tejo milenario de San Cristóbal de Valdueza: una joya ancestral - Ecologia Cotidiana

El tejo milenario de San Cristóbal de Valdueza es una verdadera joya ancestral que se encuentra en la provincia de León, en España.

ecologiacotidiana.es

2. This immense oak is "thought to be the largest and oldest tree in the Montaña Palencia in the region Castilla y Leon" - and is not so far from Cervera de Pisuerga on the Olvidado.

El Roblón de Estalaya en Estalaya

El Roblón de Estalaya en Estalaya, direccion:Ruta del Roblón de Estalaya, , abierto: PERMANENTE, Horario: , Responsable:

www.cerveradepisuerga.eu

If you really want to get into the weeds with this, here's a fun website:

The thickest, tallest, and oldest trees in Spain

www.monumentaltrees.com

Edited to add this website listing trees in Galicia:

Galician Trees: Providing Shade Through the Ages - Google Arts & Culture

Let's take a look at seven of the main tree species along the Camino: oak, chestnut, cork oak, beech, ash, yew, and holly.

artsandculture.google.com

 

[chinacat]

Oh … that oak!!
(swoon)

It even has arms to hold us

 

[mspath]

February 26, 2008



Early morning leaving Sarria after crossing the rio Pequeno on the medieval Ponte Aspera and traversing a railway track I entered a magical space, an enchanted wood, and saw what would become my favorite tree.

Carpe diem!

 

[mspath]

Camino Frances
Samos
rúa do Salvador
La Capela do Ciprés

photo taken December 1, 2013



This millennial cypress tree 25 m. tall, is one of the most notable trees in Spain. The adjacent chapel which may once have been a monastic cell is named for that cypress.

 

[CarolamS]

View attachment 20231009_132440.jpg
They also have some Pohutukawa trees in Cea, as you walk to Finisterre. I didn't know what they were when I saw them and called the Orangutan trees! A friend who'd visited New Zealand told me all about them. Very strange and very beautiful.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Another fun themed thread!
VN, as soon as I read the title I was going to say "Chestnut" because the ancient ones are amazing! I've been mesmerized by them this past year on both the Sanabres and the Invierno.
This monster was upon leaving the albergue in Villavieja. I'm in the picture for "scale".


Then the Via Francigena popped into my head because I loved seeing the marching soldiers of the "Thin man arborvitaes" all lined up in rows in Tuscany. They aren't beautiful, but they sure make a landscape statement.

 

[Teddie]

One of my most arduous days on Camino Norte consisted of constant vertical rain.
I walked through a forest knowing the day would be a long 31km, there was no farms, villages or buildings.
Hours at a constant pace, alone, resided that pushing-on was the only option....I needed a rest.
Everything was wet, soaked and cold, the path when up, was a constant flow of water.
I entered a dark valley, the day gloomy enough.
There stood a towering coniferous spruce, dark green, the base too wide to hug, branches extended, drooping and dripping. But there close to the trunk existed a perfectly dry circumference of refuge.
I thanked that tree. I frequently remember that tree.

 

[David Tallan]

I think my favourite on a Camino is this one in Sintra. I know it is on a Camino because I saw the yellow arrows.

My favourite on a Camino that I walked is this large one just before Triacastela, because I managed on separate occasions to get pictures of both my kids standing in front of it.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I think my favourite on a Camino is this one in Sintra. I know it is on a Camino because I saw the yellow arrows.
View attachment 179441
My favourite on a Camino that I walked is this large one just before Triacastela, because I managed on separate occasions to get pictures of both my kids standing in front of it.
View attachment 179442

I have been to Sintra, but my eyes were focused on other things.

Here is my picture of the same huge tree with my "kids" standing in front of it. My daughter-in-law has very long arms, but they don't begin to wrap around that behemoth tree.

 

[Jensjaunt]

 

[Jensjaunt]

I am not sure of the type of tree but these lovely planted along the path in the meseta became my favorite trees during warm days on my camino Francis

 

[NadineK]

This is my Primitivo tree, I took this photo the first time I walked the route in 2015. Turned it into a gigantic poster that I had hanging on my living room wall, and I looked at it every morning as I drank my coffee. I was back on the Primitivo in 2021, and passed this spot and recognized it right away. What a powerful experience, to know and love a tree in Spain!

(Sharing a slightly different photo than the one I have hanging on my wall... I'm oddly protective over my most favorite Camino photos! But, this is the same tree

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

My picture of the old chestnut is already on the forum. It's behind the pilgrims. Check out the text for it by clicking on "Vegtable garden"; there are links. My other pictures of it are on an SD card that snapped before I got home.

Vegetable garden

• Rick of Rick and Peg
• Jan 31, 2016
• 1

 

[VNwalking]

This millennial cypress tree 25 m. tall, is one of the most notable trees in Spain. The adjacent chapel which may once have been a monastic cell is named for that cypress.

Ummmm. I missed it.
Thanks for the heads-up, @mspath.

They aren't beautiful

Oh, these are gorgeous! Elegant, and creating such a nice contrast to the ones with rounded crowns.

 

[VNwalking]

I am not sure of the type of tree but these lovely planted along the path in the meseta became my favorite trees during warm days on my camino Francis

They're Plane trees.

In plazas all over Spain they are heavily pruned and grafted together to create a natural arbor offering continuous shade and refuge from the summer heat. The one in Briviesca on the Vasco is especially large.

 

[SabsP]

They're Plane trees.

In plazas all over Spain they are heavily pruned and grafted together to create a natural arbor offering continuous shade and refuge from the summer heat. The one in Briviesca on the Vasco is especially large.
View attachment 179458

Makes a certain peregrina on the bench less large!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

They're Plane trees.

In plazas all over Spain they are heavily pruned and grafted together to create a natural arbor offering continuous shade and refuge from the summer heat. The one in Briviesca on the Vasco is especially large.
View attachment 179458

I'm glad you posted this VN. I was almost ready to hunt mine down (I have many). It is so interesting how they prune them down to nubs in Spain like a misshapen hand, but provide shade in summer.
We even have a variety of them, called Sycamores, in northern Illinois, often near river banks.

 

[SabsP]

Burgos. May 2019.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Burgos. May 2019.

View attachment 179460

Great photo with the shade. I assume this is in or near the summer months?

 

[SabsP]

Great photo with the shade. I assume this is in or near the summer months?

An especially warm day in May indeed.

 

[Steven Dwyer]

Just off the Spiritual Variant is this lonely tree beyond the oyster beds.

 

[mspath]

Camino Frances
towards O Cebreiro
near La Laguna



November 30, 2012 on the biking path!

Shaggy with snow these huge pines resembled fairy tale phantoms .

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Camino Frances
towards O Cebreiro
near La Laguna



November 30, 2012 on the biking path!

Shaggy with snow these huge pines resembled fairy tale phantoms .

Gorgeous!...brrr!

 

[steve392]

My wife decided to hug the Eucalyptus trees in Galacia. As an Aussie she could smell them from 50km away.

 

[Sminn]

Uterga

 

[Sminn]

Armañanzas

 

[Camino Chrissy]

@Sminn, I wonder what type of trees these are with their narrow, tiny leaves.

 

[Sminn]

@Sminn, I wonder what type of trees these are with their narrow, tiny leaves.

Olive from memory, taken Apr 2023.

 

[peregrina2000]

My personal favorite is this gorgeous chestnut on the Invierno, between Villavieja and Castillo de Cornatel.

When I saw the title of the thread, I was sure I knew who the OP was. I never had a favorite tree till I walked the Camino — but now how could it be anything but the chestnut? Its impossible regenerations, its seductive and distinctive smell when it is flowering — just standing in a grove and seeing how life keeps bursting through seemingly dead trunks is pretty humbling and life-affirming. I think one of my favorites is the big one right next to the church at Soutomerille (a very short detour off the Primitivo on the day into Lugo). What could be more atmospheric than being all alone surrounded by ancient chestnuts, moss covered stone walls, and a pre-Romanesque window?



If you love chestnut trees, you’ll love Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer.