Camino del Norte: Stage 1

The first thing that you will do in your way is cross the Puente de Santiago Bridge, it is a bridge that links France and Spain over the Bidasoa River. Once you have crossed the bridge you will have to turn left through the seafront called Real Unión and then you will cross the Calle Ramón Iribarren street to continue then through another one called Santiago. This street will lead you to the Plaza de Juncal square where the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Juncal church is located. It was named after the find of a Virgin’s sculpture in a reed bed near the temple in the 15 century.

Then you will walk through the Calle de las Escuelas street, the Avenida de Navarra avenue and also through an avenue devoted to Christopher Columbus and then you will walk towards the train rails, once you get there you will have to cross them through a flyover towards the Calle de Fuenterrabía street. If you continue straight forward you will get to a roundabout and then you will have to walk under a bridge to turn left a little bit after to get to the national road. You will have to cross to get to an asphalted road among the Marismas de Txingudi marshes that is one of the most important wetlands in Spain. Once you get to an interpretation center you will have to turn left and after crossing some bridges you will have to turn left in the next two crossings to get to a famous neighborhood called Arkolla. There you will find the Ermita de Santiagotxo hermitage that has inside a sculpture of St. James known as Santiago Beltz because the image is black. This sculpture disappeared in the sixties and now in the hermitage you can just see a picture of it. In the next crossing, you will have to go to the left and then get to another path to get to the Santuario de Guadalupe sanctuary, the views from this place are amazing. This sanctuary is from the 16 century

and inside it has a Virgin’s sculpture accompanied by some scale boats and also many sea items given by the local fishers. Then you will have to walk next to the mountain, you will cross a staircase and then you will have two options, you will continue through the official once, the one that is indicated with the scallop shells and the yellow arrows, to the left. In this route you will border all the mountain and also cross Pasajes de San Juan. Then you will get to the GI-3440 and you will have to continue straight forward. But then you will have to leave it through the left side to get to the Ría de Pasajes estuary. Once you get to the estuary you will find a staircase that you have to cross to get to the left to cross a hostel called Santa Ana, located in Larrabide. To continue you will have to cross the estuary by boat (there is a regular service to cross it) to get to the other side and be able to continue. The first thing that you will visit is the Faro de la Plata lighthouse. After visiting the lighthouse you will have to turn left towards San Sebastián. You will get to the Monte Ilía mount and also to its seafront. Then you will get to a viewpoint where you will see all San Sebastián and also its famous beach: Playa de la Concha. After visiting the viewpoint you will have to go through the Calle Zemoria street. Then you will walk through an avenue called Navarra and then through a seafront in the Plaza de Zurriola beach. You will have to cross a river and you will get to the town hall square and then if you want to visit some other monuments such as the Palacio de Miramar palace.

Bear in mind

From Irún there is an alternative route that links the Northern Way towards Puente la Reina, from Juncal square.

This stage is a difficult stage because it is full of ups and downs, the main problem for cyclists and people with reduced mobility.