Camino Aragonés: Stage 1

The stage begins in the autonomous community of Aragón, heading towards Candanchú. Next to the road, there is a trail, where you must be careful, as there are some very steep slopes along the descent. After a short time, you can see the remains of the Old Santa Cristina Hospital, where pilgrims from other times, stopped and rested. The trail continues on as far as the Candanchú ski station, where further ahead, you should cross the River Aragón across the Puente de Santa Crstina, following a path with a slight incline. Passing the National road N-330, we change to a trail that is not so well-preserved, that crosses through a forest of pine trees. We can see the Fuerte de Coll de Ladrones before arriving to Canfranc Station, near the southern side of the old railway tunnel of Somport.

To leave the village, you must go along next to the tunnel of the national road, crossing a colonnade. Further ahead, we cross the River Aragón again, just on the opposite side of the Torreta de Fusileros. We can visit this monument, but it would mean taking a detour that later on we could regret. If we decide to continue along the way, we should cross the River Aragón again to arrive in Canfranc.

Dejando de lado izquierdo la iglesia de la Trinidad, abandonamos el pueblo debiendo cruzar de nuevo el río Aragón a través del Puente de Canfranc. Later, the path will force us to go along the national road two times, always next to the river. In this way, we arrive to Villanúa, where you should decide whether or not to continue along the camino, or to make a brief stop to make the most of the services of the village on the left-hand side.

Continuing along the path, we should once again cross the River Aragón, until crossing the national road and thus reach the dual carriageway to Aratorés. Going down this road, the moment will arrive when we have to turn right and then continue straight ahead until reaching Castiello de Jaca.

Once you’ve finished the descent to the village, you should exit once again onto the national road, where upon crossing it, you should follow the path until you reach the River Aragón once again and cross a bridge. Shortly after, we skirt the River Ijuez using a specially constructed path for just this. Later on, we will find the train tracks that we should follow until we have to cross the national road through a tunnel, and once there, we continue on parallel to the national road, which should by on our left, with the river on our right. We will arrive to the Hermitage of San Cristóbal, in order to then take the Avenida de Francia to the centre of Jaca. Congratulations! You have finished the first stage of the Camino Aragonés. Now you can enjoy the incredible heritage that the region of Jaca offers.

Bear in mind

Being a mountainous stage, it is recommended that people with a physical disability or issue should be accompanied by trusted people, who will help them along the way. Moreover, we recommend rationing your energy in order to be able to finish the stage in good condition, given its mountainous profile.