from Huesca to Pamplona

[Michalcz]

Hello,
In 17 August i will go with travel agency to climbing Pyrenees. After that im planning in 26. August start camino from Huesca (i will take bus from Benasque) to Pamplona or Logrono (i dont have time to go full camino)

I have a few qustions:
- Where and how to get credencial in Huseca? Is possible get it in Albergue?
- Will albergues open without booking/call before?
- How much peregrinos going this route?
- What is best way to get from Pamplona to Paris (im from Czechia, best way to get into Spain is across Paris)


Thank you very much! Im not speaking Spanish so this organisation things are hard for me.

 

[oursonpolaire]

Pamplona to Paris is easy; either directly by bus (Alsa), or bus to Bayonne and then train, or bus to Biarritz and fly.

Usually, albergues have credenciales. In Huesca, there is the Albergue de peregrinos San GAlindo on C. Valentín Gardeta, 34 , but if you are beginning your Camino in Pamplona or Logrono, why not get the credencial there? Generally speaking, albergues in major centres will be open without the need to call in advance.

How many pilgrims? If you are speaking about the Camino from Pamplona or Logrono, there will be many. If you are thinking of Huesca, a handful.

Remember that there is a Camino from Huesca, with three stages of the Camino Catalan, and then on to the Camino Aragonese, which leads after five stages to Puenta la Reina.

 

[Vacajoe]

Huesca to Pamplona will be beautiful and not crowded. You can reach Pamplona through Puente de Reina OR take the Verde Trail which follows an old rail line through Lumbier and up to Pamplona

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Will albergues open without booking/call before?

http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/hospital-de-peregrinos-san-galindo

Open hours are 1300--1800. You can contact them about a credential.

Only six pilgrims started in Zaragoza last year; Huesca is not even listed! You will not have a lot of competition for a bed...

 

[Vacajoe]

We took a bus from Huesca to Jaca over the “Spanish Pyrenees” finger that separates them due to a late-season snowstorm this past April. Huesca was a nice city and worth a day or two for exploration if you have the time. As you enter the Aragon valley on the Camino Catalan, be sure to visit the monasteries in San Juan de la Pena!

 

[Michalcz]

Thank you for replies
Well, i will in Benasque and from Benasque is much easier get to Huseca or Jaca than into Pamplona.
So Huesca or Jaca, what is better place for start camino?

However, Im planning go by bus from Huesca to Jaca and start camino from Jaca (next albergue Arres). So where is better spend first night, in albergue Jaca or Huesca?

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, MichalczI, welcome to the forum. How many days can you walk?

I walked the Camino Catalán through Huesca. From Huesca to where the Catalán joins the Aragonés it is very lovely terrain and takes you right through San Juan de la Peña, one of the medieval marvels of the world. Then you can pick up the Aragonés in Santa Cilia de Jaca, which is beyond Jaca.

The walk from the Somport Pass (french border) to Jaca is all down hill but through very gorgeous mountain scenery. When we joined the Aragonés at Santa Cilia, we flagged down a car, and the driver took us up to Somport to start walking. I know you will have seen a lot of mountains already, but if you haven’t gotten enough, adding on those kms from Somport to Jaca is a great idea.

The Aragonés beyond Jaca is also pretty, With lots of little hilltop towns with very nice albergues. All in all a great Camino, and when you merge with the Francés in Puente la Reina or a few kms before, you will be shocked, surprised and stupefied by all the millions of people!

I would make the Jaca vs. Huesca decision based on how many days you have to walk and where you want to end up. Buen camino, laurie

 

[Michalcz]

I want walk full camino - finish in Santiago de Compostela (or Fisterra) I have some time limit, but i can walk around 30 days.

I will in 25. august climb Pico de Aneto
26. August will rest and transport day (into Huesca or Jaca?)
In 27. August i will start walking from Jaca to Arres

I'm not an experienced traveler and also i dont know spanish. I guess its not problem in SJPP, but i dont know how it going in nontourist places.

 

[Vacajoe]

If you stay in a Huesca, you can catch a morning bus to Jaca then start walking to a Arres once you get there. However, Jaca is worth a visit and the pilgrim office there has excellent resources to assist you in planning your route. If your plan is to start in Jaca, then stay the night there.

To make it to Santiago from Jaca in 30 days is pretty fast, unless you plan to bus/taxi some sections. If your plan is to travel 100% by foot, you may want to start in Pamplona or further along the route. The Aragon Valley is beautiful and I highly recommend it, but only if you have the time to appreciate it.

 

[Michalcz]

If you stay in a Huesca, you can catch a morning bus to Jaca then start walking to a Arres once you get there. However, Jaca is worth a visit and the pilgrim office there has excellent resources to assist you in planning your route. If your plan is to start in Jaca, then stay the night there.

To make it to Santiago from Jaca in 30 days is pretty fast, unless you plan to bus/taxi some sections. If your plan is to travel 100% by foot, you may want to start in Pamplona or further along the route. The Aragon Valley is beautiful and I highly recommend it, but only if you have the time to appreciate it.

Thank you, Jaca seem better. I cant find information about pilgrim office in Jaca - is it in albergue or infomation tourist center?

 

[Vacajoe]

Tourist center

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Strongly recommend a look around Jaca. The Cathedral & Diocesan Museum is small but superb! I missed seeing the Citadel (closed Mondays) but understand that it is also remarkable. Can recommend the Hotel El Acebo. And there is a slick municipal information center....

God speed! (And pray for dry weather!)

 

[APilgrim3393]

Even in the month of August last year, on the Camino Aragones I found hardly any pilgrims- two pilgrims going the other way (up) and two going down. On my way to my starting point, (somport) I stayed a night in Huesca. It is a great place to stay. As the above posters indicated, you can start there in Huesca on the Camino Catalan and walk three stages to meet the Camino Aragones in a town below Jaca. There is also a way to continue on the catalanes to logrono- I believe you can stay on the catalanes to meet the Camino Frances in logrono and avoid even more of the heavily traveled frances. Note: if you opt to go the way of Aragones to meet Camino frances in la reina, remember that Pamplona is one stage before the spot that Aragones meets the Frances. The Aragones actually meets the frances a few kilometers before puente la reina. You could easily go right instead of left in that small village and walk to Pamplona. My guess about 19-23 kilometers against the flow to Pamplona. There would be some narrow trail that could complicate it at times but much of it is wide. The narrow trail parts are generally in the middle of the stage, mostly before you get to the Alta Perdón traveling East. In other words, if you decide to walk to Pamplona you would arrive to the most narrow parts in the afternoon and most pilgrims will have passed. Buen Camino.

 

[peregrina2000]

Even in the month of August last year, on the Camino Aragones I found hardly any pilgrims- two pilgrims going the other way (up) and two going down. On my way to my starting point, (somport) I stayed a night in Huesca. It is a great place to stay. As the above posters indicated, you can start there in Huesca on the Camino Catalan and walk three stages to meet the Camino Aragones in a town below Jaca. There is also a way to continue on the catalanes to logrono- I believe you can stay on the catalanes to meet the Camino Frances in logrono and avoid even more of the heavily traveled frances. Note: if you opt to go the way of Aragones to meet Camino frances in la reina, remember that Pamplona is one stage before the spot that Aragones meets the Frances. The Aragones actually meets the frances a few kilometers before puente la reina. You could easily go right instead of left in that small village and walk to Pamplona. My guess about 19-23 kilometers against the flow to Pamplona. There would be some narrow trail that could complicate it at times but much of it is wide. The narrow trail parts are generally in the middle of the stage, mostly before you get to the Alta Perdón traveling East. In other words, if you decide to walk to Pamplona you would arrive to the most narrow parts in the afternoon and most pilgrims will have passed. Buen Camino.

This thread is an old one and the OP has done his camino by now. But I think it’s an interesting thing to consider, a start in Huesca, very easy to get to from Barcelona.

Huesca is a very nice place. The albergue in Huesca is run by the Association and is a modern building. When I stayed there, there was a number on the door to call.

The walk from Huesca to Santa Cilia de Jaca, where it joins the Aragonés is an outstanding walk, including a trip up to San Juan de la Peña from the “back side.” The trip down is excruciating, though, much steeping incline than the walk up. The only downside about continuing on the Aragonés from Santa Cilia is that you will miss the Somport pass, Canfranc Station, and Jaca!

Tiebas on the Aragonés has an albergue and is essentially a Pamplona suburb, lots of buses going in and out. I remember that the hospitalero there told us that he would let pilgrims spend a couple of nights there to experience the running of the bulls In San Fermín. If I ever am tempted to be in Pamplona for that extravaganza, I think this would be the best way to do it. Taking a bus out of the craziness to a quiet pueblo for sleeping seems like an excellent idea.

 

[APilgrim3393]

Peregrina2000 or anyone with experience of the Catalan going to Camino Aragones more input would be great. Do you happen to know if a pilgrim has a chance to cut off the Catalan Camino before joining the Aragones, in order to walk straight into Jaca rather than backtrack on the Aragones. My goal is to walk into Jaca. Is that feasible enough? Also do you know if walking from Huesca to the Camino Aragones is usually ok in winter. It’s clear one cannot predict weather here much, I had a foot of snow after the ocebriero in mid-November and took my shirt off as I started my ascent after Pamplona in late December. Yeah I could do some internet searching but in general what’s the altitude like between Huesca and Jaca? Any input is much appreciated. Jhon

 

[peregrina2000]

Peregrina2000 or anyone with experience of the Catalan going to Camino Aragones more input would be great. Do you happen to know if a pilgrim has a chance to cut off the Catalan Camino before joining the Aragones, in order to walk straight into Jaca rather than backtrack on the Aragones. My goal is to walk into Jaca. Is that feasible enough? Also do you know if walking from Huesca to the Camino Aragones is usually ok in winter. It’s clear one cannot predict weather here much, I had a foot of snow after the ocebriero in mid-November and took my shirt off as I started my ascent after Pamplona in late December. Yeah I could do some internet searching but in general what’s the altitude like between Huesca and Jaca? Any input is much appreciated. Jhon

Hi, Jhon,

My "wikiloc premium" lets me search for all trails recorded between two places. So I put in San Juan de la Peña and Jaca, because I made the executive decision that you didn't want to miss that amazing place.

Most of those trails do require some backtracking but not as much as if you went all the way on the Catalán to Santa Cilia de Jaca. I thnk this alternative may have been in quite bad shape a while ago. I remember some posts by, I believe, @Anniesantiago if you search for her comments about San Juan de la Peña

Here are some links. I did not really scrutinize these trails to see if they are different.

2015 PIRINEO otoñal oscense(Octubre2015)V4-E6: Jaca - S.JuandelaPeñaNuevo(cota1220m)-San JuandelaPeñaViejo. CAMINO ARAGONÉS.

2015 PIRINEO otoñal oscense(Octubre2015)V4-E6: Jaca - S.JuandelaPeñaNuevo(cota1220m)-San JuandelaPeñaViejo. CAMINO ARAGONÉS. Hiking trail in Jaca, Aragón (España). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. 2015 Camino de Santiago Aragonés: Desde Jaca a San Juan de la Peña viejo...

www.wikiloc.com

Jaca-Atarés-San Juan de la Peña

Jaca-Atarés-San Juan de la Peña Hiking trail in Jaca, Aragón (España). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. Alternativa al camino de santiago tradicional. Acorta tiempo y distancia pero es un pelin m�s duro que el tradicional. Fuente en Atar�s.

www.wikiloc.com

If you were thinking about starting back further and cutting over to Jaca without going through San Juan, I can look for some recorded trails if you tell me where you would want to get off the Catalán. I did look at trails from Botaya (our last night on the Catalán), but they all went through San Juan.

Good luck with this, let me know if this doesn´t make sense. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I was on the Catalan and Aragonese October and November 2019. Met only one pilgrim on the Catalan going my way (six going the opposite way on the Ignacio which shares part of the way). Three going my way on the Aragonese. Gronze has 3 stages between Huesca and the Aragonese but it has a stop on Pena Estascion which has no lodging so I did Huesca-Bolea-Sarsamarcuello-Ena-Puenta la Reina de Jaca (at a hotel). The last because Santa Celia was closed for the season and it was night, cold and raining and continuing to Arres would have meant even more of the same.

 

[Vacajoe]

There is a “back route” from the “new” monastery at San Juan to Jaca via the tiny village of Atares. This would drop you onto the Aragones just a few kilometers south of Jaca.

HOWEVER, it will likely be impassable in winter, as would the trail from Huesca to San Juan. We walked in early April 2018 and a snowstorm dumped feet of snow on those passes, altering our plans significantly. (It also snowed on us over the Somport Pass in April 2019!)

These storms really did come out of nowhere and could have caused significant dangers if hikers were attempting any of those routes at the time. Additionally, housing can be an issue in these non-tourist periods, so definitely check that the places you hope to stay are open over the winter (even the parador at San Juan attempted to close due to the storm, but they a had a single reservation from two intrepid hikers battling through the dark, stormy night ).

 

[peregrina2000]

There is a “back route” from the “new” monastery at San Juan to Jaca via the tiny village of Atares. This would drop you onto the Aragones just a few kilometers south of Jaca.

HOWEVER, it will likely be impassable in winter, as would the trail from Huesca to San Juan. We walked in early April 2018 and a snowstorm dumped feet of snow on those passes, altering our plans significantly. (It also snowed on us over the Somport Pass in April 2019!)

These storms really did come out of nowhere and could have caused significant dangers if hikers were attempting any of those routes at the time. Additionally, housing can be an issue in these non-tourist periods, so definitely check that the places you hope to stay are open over the winter (even the parador at San Juan attempted to close due to the storm, but they a had a single reservation from two intrepid hikers battling through the dark, stormy night ).

Vacajoe,
Can you take a look at the trails I pasted into my posts 3 posts above and tell us if that is the “back route”. Also, I’m wondering if you have walked it. I think I remember that @Anniesantiago either suffered very badly doing it or stopped before getting in too deep. But my memory is not totally reliable.

 

[Vacajoe]

Yes, it’s the “Jaca/Atares/San Juan” you posted - I used the wiki Loc map to follow the route since it’s seldom walked and a bit overgrown. When the rain deluge started, many of the uphill paths turned into streams which was a mix of fun and misery. The snow started on the second part of the path where it gets really steep, so we had to turn around and take the roadway through Santa Celia instead. It was a very long slog...

There is a variation to that path that would have been easier, but I don’t know about it prior: a horse trail intersects the walking path on the ridge near Atares; it can be followed north into Jaca, avoiding a lot of the overgrown path and completely bypassing the Aragón trail.

Efforts are being made to improve this alternative route, but it looked exactly the same (overgrown, intermittently marked) in 2018 and 2019.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

As a by-the-way I just looked at the time and date stamps on my first and last pictures of the old monastery at San Juan de la Peña and I spent an hour and a half there.

 

[Vacajoe]

Good point, Rick - it’s small enough to do as a half-day trip (including cab/bus ride). The “new” monastery a bit up the mountain has a museum with mannequins demonstrating how daily life was conducted there. I found it very interesting, though reviews from others are mixed. The view from the ridge line is spectacular on a clear day and it’s one of the few places to see wild barking deer in Europe!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Let me expand a bit more Joe. One arrives at the new monastery first when walking the Camino Catalan. There is a separate building there that is a vistor's center (closed when I was there). I believe there is lodging at the new monastery in one wing but with the ticket booth, shop and restrooms there too. The museum exhibits are in the other wing. VERY modern design. There is a glass floor above the excavated rooms of the monastery. As you wrote, with mannequins to show what the rooms were used for. There are placards to describe what they did there. There were two problems with that for me. First they were only in Spanish. I can usually understand half of a placard but it takes awhile. The other problem was that I didn't have much time before the old monastery closed and I had to walk there first. I skipped almost all placards and went through the exhibits quickly. I did wish that I could have spent more time there.

 

[Vacajoe]

I think you misunderstood, Rick - I meant no offense! I was agreeing with you that 90 minutes for the old monastery works, with more time for the newer museum if that is your thing. All told, half a day for the entire visit.

Fortunately, the municipal alburgue in Santa Celia allows one to stay two nights if you are visiting the monastery. I’d walking in on the Catalan, passing through works even better

 

[oursonpolaire]

There is a “back route” from the “new” monastery at San Juan to Jaca via the tiny village of Atares. This would drop you onto the Aragones just a few kilometers south of Jaca.

HOWEVER, it will likely be impassable in winter, as would the trail from Huesca to San Juan. We walked in early April 2018 and a snowstorm dumped feet of snow on those passes, altering our plans significantly. (It also snowed on us over the Somport Pass in April 2019!)

These storms really did come out of nowhere and could have caused significant dangers if hikers were attempting any of those routes at the time. Additionally, housing can be an issue in these non-tourist periods, so definitely check that the places you hope to stay are open over the winter (even the parador at San Juan attempted to close due to the storm, but they a had a single reservation from two intrepid hikers battling through the dark, stormy night ).

I walked the "back route" from Jaca to Atares to San Juan de la P some years ago (2007) and found it very difficult indeed. There is no way I could recommend it to anyone. In 2009 I enquired at the turismo in Jaca to see if it had been improved and the agent, a young man and a hiker, told me that he knew it and it had deterioriated since then. A few years later, when I walked the Aragonese variant north of the Embalse, I sat in the hot springs at Tiermas chatting with some young officers from the Mountain division school in Jaca (one is bound to socalize in such circumstances) and one told me that she had been on it the year before (might this have been 2013?? I have lost track of my notes) and said that it was not a trail at all.

Since these events, somebody may have worked on the trail to mark it and clear away the scrub but, if not, I am not sure that I would attempt it. It's best to make local enquiries first.

 

[Vacajoe]

Those are the trail in April 2018; I was told by the Jaca pilgrim office that an effort had been made a year or two previously to “update” the trail. In nice weather, it would be charming, but certainly NOT in the winter months that the OP plans to walk.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I think you misunderstood, Rick - I meant no offense!

Oh no. I liked that you wrote about the newer monastery. I don't remember reading much about it on the forum. I decided to add to the tour guide.

 

[ebrandt]

This discussion has been really helpful! We may walk the Aragones this next September and I was thinking that we could take the bus from Jaca to the monastery in the morning, visit, and then walk to Santa Cilia via the new monastery and Santa Cruz de la Seros. That would be about an 11.5 km walk after visiting the monastery(s). Is from the old Monestary as difficult as the walk to it? Peregrina2000 -- you mentioned that it was very rugged in your 2015 notes. Should we try this with my gimpy ankle and Tom's gimpy neck? We could easily take a day to see the monasteries and then walk on from Jaca as a plan B.

 

[ebrandt]

OK -- I just fount the string including pictures and other info about the walk on the path between the old and new monasteries. Everyone refers to the road. I usually try to avoid road walking the road to avoid a difficult downhill would be OK -- Let me know what you all think!

 

[Vacajoe]

The road is pleasant and not heavily traveled on weekdays. The views as you walk it are spectacular and I’d encourage you to try it over the trail.

 

[peregrina2000]

OK -- I just fount the string including pictures and other info about the walk on the path between the old and new monasteries. Everyone refers to the road. I usually try to avoid road walking the road to avoid a difficult downhill would be OK -- Let me know what you all think!

Hi, Liz,
From the ancient monastery at San Juan to Santa Cruz de la Seros, the camino is one of the steepest descents I have walked on any camino. It really did a number on my knee, and I was hurting all the way into Santiago, so I don’t know about your ankle. The road is much much longer, of course, but that might be the more prudent way to go. Take a look at Google Maps, which I have attached. The Camino goes in essentially a straight line from the monastery to Santa Cruz, but the road really wiggles and weaves around. That tells you something about the elevation.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Is from the old Monestary as difficult as the walk to it? Peregrina2000 -- you mentioned that it was very rugged in your 2015 notes. Should we try this with my gimpy ankle and Tom's gimpy neck?

I recommend that, with your injuries, you avoid the trail going down. I'm not so worried about you on the rest of the Aragonese from Santa Cruz. I've got a bit of concern about going up the Alto de Perdon from Puente la Reina to Pamplona but not enough to say that you shouldn't do it (although you can get up by a road). I've found that loose rock trails are a lot easier going up than down.

 

[ebrandt]

We have walked Alto de Perdon. I think we will be ok there if we go slow. It’s not that long. We will break up the descent from Cruz de Fero by staying at Acebo. I’m looking at Laurie’s google map. But I think we will avoid the trail! Thanks everyone!

 

[oursonpolaire]

The road is pleasant and not heavily traveled on weekdays. The views as you walk it are spectacular and I’d encourage you to try it over the trail.

I have done both and strongly recommend the road. The path verges on being a technical climb on at least one point and is not good for those of us with vertigo.

 

[peregrina2000]

This discussion has been really helpful! We may walk the Aragones this next September and I was thinking that we could take the bus from Jaca to the monastery in the morning, visit, and then walk to Santa Cilia via the new monastery and Santa Cruz de la Seros. That would be about an 11.5 km walk after visiting the monastery(s). Is from the old Monestary as difficult as the walk to it? Peregrina2000 -- you mentioned that it was very rugged in your 2015 notes. Should we try this with my gimpy ankle and Tom's gimpy neck? We could easily take a day to see the monasteries and then walk on from Jaca as a plan B.

Another option would be to take the bus up to the monastery, enjoy the monasteries (old and new) and then walk from there to Santa Cruz de la Serós on the road, staying at what looks like a nice little Hotel Rural in the village. http://www.elmiradordelospirineos.com/en/el-mirador-de-los-pirineos-2/There are a couple of churches there worth visitng as well.

That would give you about 16 the next day to Arres, a not-to-be-missed albergue on the Aragonés.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I've lost the link to the virtual Camino from Montserrat to Pamplona.
We want to plan our walk from Huesca.
I've searched.
I guess I'm not a good searcher.
Help?

 

[mspath]

I've lost the link to the virtual Camino from Montserrat to Pamplona.
We want to plan our walk from Huesca.
I've searched.
I guess I'm not a good searcher.
Help?

Try this Annie. It is what you wrote earlier.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/virtual-planning-thread-caminos-girona-catal%C3%A1n-and-aragon%C3%A9s-part-2-montserrat-santa-cilia.71223/post-952715

also see thiis earlier thread which includes posts regarding walking from Huesca

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/camino-catalán-from-montserrat-through-huesca.36443