Baztan, Vasco del Interior or Aragones?

[Camino2014]

Hi! Haven't posted on here in awhile, but I'm happy to be back! (And hi to my friend @peregrina2000 who I met on the Norte last year!)

I'm gearing up for a semester abroad at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona (which is super exciting as a pilgrim) and I've started researching potential Caminos I could walk during my time in Spain. I will have a decent amount of free time, but as an exchange student I will only be able to walk 5 or 6 days tops on any Camino.

So, what short and sweet routes do you all recommend? Preferably in Basque Country/Navarra/Aragon, but I'm open to any suggestions!

I've been leaning towards Baztan because it goes through Basque Country and the Pyrenees, and I really like walking through the mountains and tiny villages with lots of Camino history. However, I've already walked a few Caminos in the region (Voie du Piemont from Lourdes to SJPdP, Voie Littoral from Bayonne to Irun) and maybe it's time to try something further afield?

I apologize for the rambling post, but I'm excited to hear your suggestions! Buen Camino!

 

[Kiwi-family]

I loved the Baztan and also La Voie de la Nive from Bayonne to St Jean (or reverse as we walked it)
The Ingles is short but obviously farther away. And there’s nothing stopping you just doing a portion of any route that takes your fancy. You could choose a different one every weekend!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi! Haven't posted on here in awhile, but I'm happy to be back! (And hi to my friend @peregrina2000 who I met on the Norte last year!)

I'm gearing up for a semester abroad at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona (which is super exciting as a pilgrim) and I've started researching potential Caminos I could walk during my time in Spain. I will have a decent amount of free time, but as an exchange student I will only be able to walk 5 or 6 days tops on any Camino.

So, what short and sweet routes do you all recommend? Preferably in Basque Country/Navarra/Aragon, but I'm open to any suggestions!

I've been leaning towards Baztan because it goes through Basque Country and the Pyrenees, and I really like walking through the mountains and tiny villages with lots of Camino history. However, I've already walked a few Caminos in the region (Voie du Piemont from Lourdes to SJPdP, Voie Littoral from Bayonne to Irun) and maybe it's time to try something further afield?

I apologize for the rambling post, but I'm excited to hear your suggestions! Buen Camino!

Oh, I think it must be my favorite mother-son team checking back in! Good to hear from you. Sounds like a great opportunity to be in Pamplona for a semester.

I walked the Baztán last year with several other forum friends, and it is gorgeous. You can see our posts in the Baztán subforum. I also love the Aragonés and highly recommend it. Further afield, you could always walk the Salvador. 4-6 days from León to Oviedo and a couple of days of gorgeous mountain scenery. Both of those cities have good public transport so you could get there easily. I have links to blogs on all of these routes in my signature line below. I would be hard pressed to say which one I like best, though! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Camino2014]

I loved the Baztan and also La Voie de la Nive from Bayonne to St Jean (or reverse as we walked it)
The Ingles is short but obviously farther away. And there’s nothing stopping you just doing a portion of any route that takes your fancy. You could choose a different one every weekend!

I walked the Ingles last summer and really enjoyed it. But I did not realize there was a route to St. Jean from Bayonne! Do you have any links to photos of the Voie de la Nice? I would be interested to check out this route.

 

[timr]

I've walked from Lourdes to SJPdP and also Baztan. Both Basque but rather different landscapes. I loved both. Don't let Piedmont put you off Baztan! And you can do it in five days. Good infrastructure except perhaps first night in Espelette. You'll see plenty of discussion in the forum about options. Buen Camino.

 

[Camino2014]

Oh, I think it must be my favorite mother-son team checking back in! Good to hear from you. Sounds like a great opportunity to be in Pamplona for a semester.

I walked the Baztán last year with several other forum friends, and it is gorgeous. You can see our posts in the Baztán subforum. I also love the Aragonés and highly recommend it. Further afield, you could always walk the Salvador. 4-6 days from León to Oviedo and a couple of days of gorgeous mountain scenery. Both of those cities have good public transport so you could get there easily. I have links to blogs on all of these routes in my signature line below. I would be hard pressed to say which one I like best, though! Buen camino, Laurie

Thanks, Laurie! I seem to remember you mentioning the Baztan and how beautiful it was. The Salvador and Primitivo are also on my radar, if only for some more fabada and sidra asturiana!

 

[amancio]

Aragones is the one with the strongest pilgrimage flavour, in my opinion, but why do only one? Just do them all, you lucky thing!
The Baztan is waiting for me at some stage, hopefully in september...

 

[VNwalking]

I've only done the Baztan, but will second everyone who says, "Wow!"
Because wow it is. And as it is close at hand to where you will be, well, ho good is that?

Maybe work your way outwards in concentric circles...Baztan, Voie de Nive, Aragones?
And then there is the Camino Viejo, from Pamplona westward, but North of the Frances. This post and the thread by @Sheffield James that it's embedded in give a lot of recent information on the Camino Viejo:

I am so glad there are people wanting to walk this beautiful route!
For a bit more info (from 2012) you can take a look here https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/viejo-camino-de-santiago.7585/post-108731 and here https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/viejo-camino-de-santiago.7585/post-138545.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Do you have any links to photos of the Voie de la Nice? I would be interested to check out this route.

Our four days on La Voie de la Nive are on our blog charitywalki g.wordpress.com - they are filed under a category of the same name. Not a lot of photos as wifi was slow, but I do describe it as “impossibly beautiful” at one point!
Google it and you’ll find the directions I used too - a few more pics.
We actually started in Pamplona, walked “backwards” to St Jean, then did La Voie de la Nive to Bayonne and came back down the Baztan to Pamplona. I’d have liked one extra day on the Baztan to enjoy the beauty, but we were meeting family in Pamplona and so pressed on.

 

[caminka]

how about exploring some little known (and visited, and probably waymarked) routes crossing various passes over the pyrenees? like valleys of ansó, roncal and hecho? there are also southern and northern (via leyre) variants of aragonés. or even GR-10 and GR-11/12 on the french and spanish sides of the pyrenees, respectively? (GR-10 from sjpp is spectacular.)

caminos in aragon:
http://www.jacetania.es/jacetaneas/...IMONIO/GuiaCaminoSantiagoAragones_English.pdf

chemins en béarn:
https://www.lebearn.net/sp.compostela.html

ideas for crossing the pyrenees further east:
http://amis-compostelle66.fr/

 

[StephenChad]

Yes, agree with @caminka, the 'Senda' is wonderful:
https://travesiapirenaica.com/gr11/gr11.php