There’s a better way to do one of the world’s greatest walks: Don’t walk

As a lapsed Catholic, I’m as surprised as anyone to find myself on a Catholic pilgrimage. Much like Buddhism’s Shikoku Junrei pilgrimage in Japan, and Islam’s Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Spain’s Camino de Santiago, or “the Way of St James”, is Christendom’s answer to seeking spirituality and enlightenment through a physically rewarding journey. It turns out it is also a remarkable way to slow-travel through northwest Spain, a journey of Pyrenean peaks and rolling oak woodlands, quintessential Galician eateries and characteristic old towns blessed with spectacular religious architecture.

The Camino emerged in the 9th century when the remains of St James – believed to be buried under the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the capital of the Galicia region in northwest Spain, became a drawcard for pilgrims seeking penance for their sins. It remained popular through to the 15th century when it was declared one of the three great Christian pilgrimages (along with Jerusalem and Rome). Political unrest in Europe during the 16th century saw it decline almost to obscurity until a small revival in the 1970s. By the 1990s, the number of pilgrims had begun to match those of medieval days.

According to the Santiago Pilgrim Office – where pilgrims collect their Compostela certificate, awarded on completion – the number has been steadily increasing since the ’90s (excepting the pandemic years), with records broken every year and no sign of the trend abating. In 1990, 4918 pilgrims received certificates. In 2025, the number was 530,919.

Rather than one route, the Camino is a network of more than 20 different routes across Europe, including legs that begin in England, France, Italy and Portugal. In ancient times, pilgrims would literally step out of their homes and begin walking. Routes were duly formed and infrastructure – hospitals, guesthouses, eateries and trinket shops – popped up along the trails.

Our route bites off the last 330 kilometres or so of the most well-trodden route, the 783 kilometre Camino Frances, or the French Way, from Roncesvalles, near the French border, to Santiago de Compostela. The itinerary is self-guided, but the tedious legwork – including bike and accommodation bookings, luggage transfers, maps, apps and back-up support – is taken care of by UTracks, a tour company offering more than 100 Camino itineraries, 14 of them by bike. According to founder Kate Baker, the number of pilgrims choosing wheels over walking is gradually increasing. Rather than undertake a month-long pilgrimage on foot, I’m short on time and travelling with an active young family. The company’s eight-day, “moderate-to-challenging” e-bike adventure ticks most boxes.

Our journey begins in the city of Leon and heads west through the autonomous regions of Castilla and Leon, and Galicia. Leon’s cafe-lined and paved old quarter surrounds the city’s grandiose cathedral, a Gothic wonder with soaring stained-glass windows that throw colour over the congregation below. It’s behind us as we ride through quiet shuttered streets and into the congestion of the city’s work-a-day new town. From the get-go we navigate via the Camino’s distinctive yellow arrows and scallop shell symbols, which will guide us unfailingly along the route. Even this early, we are greeted encouragingly with “buen camino”, a refrain that will be repeated hundreds of times on the journey ahead.

The 54-kilometre cycle to Astorga, one of Spain’s oldest cities, is an eye-opener, past irrigated farmlands, wheat fields, grape vines and avenues of rosehips and blackberry brambles. Cornfields run both sides of the road and eagles soar on thermals above. In a one-donkey village we eat Spanish tortilla on an old porch in the hot morning sun.

Later, in Hospital di Obrigo, named for the 16th century pilgrims hospital that once operated here, we eye barrel-sized storks’ nests in a chapel belfry and hear their enormous clattering beaks from our picnic spot underneath the town’s medieval stone bridge. A post-swim snooze here is a rookie error that makes the next leg – red dirt tracks in the heat of the day – challenging. It’s a relief to reach the outskirts of Astorga, from where we can see the town’s magnificent cathedral, which is next door to our hotel.

The next day, it’s a 55 kilometre ride, climbing from Astorga through oak woodlands, ferns and wildflowers into higher country and a steep 800 metre ascent to the village of Foncebadon, and the Cruz de Ferro, an iron crucifix that marks the highest point on the Camino. As I push all my weight on one pedal and then the other, thighs burning, I’m grateful that the kids and I opted-in to the (more expensive) e-bikes. My partner, who has calves like Popeye’s forearms, chose a standard bike and is now accepting “bro-tows” to ascend the steep mountainside. We are rewarded with a long downhill roll through the pretty riverside town of Molinaseca to our next stop, Ponferrada, where we head to a medieval festival in the grounds of the city’s Templar Castle.

The following day’s 65 kilometre stretch starts with a cafe breakfast in Ponferrada, alongside a dozen elderly Spanish men dipping hot crunchy churros into cups of rich hot chocolate. With our Camino passports stamped (proof of our journey when we apply for our Compostela certificates) we continue cycling through woodlands populated by rabbits and deer, past vineyards and along roads shaded by pear and fig trees.

I flag Villafranca del Bierzo as a town to return to. This Renaissance gem with monasteries and castles was established to give refuge to pilgrims before the most difficult part of their pilgrimage – the gruelling ascent to O Cebreiro, which lies ahead of us. At 1330m, O Cebreiro is known both for its circular thatch-roofed and stone dwellings called pallozas, and as the most demanding peak along the western section of the Camino. It’s tough-going, but we finally make it to tranquil Casa Galego Alojamiento, a stone pensione in mountainside Fonferia. It is run by lovely Dona Modesta, who rewards the kids with bowls of caldo Gallego, a hearty Galician white bean soup.

Through thick mountain mist, the next day’s 64 kilometre ride to Portomarin is mostly downhill, via little villages with quaint overhanging wooden balconies, and the town of Sarria, which has a stunning Benedictine monastery. We sip coffee in a roadside cafe and watch brown-robed monks stroll by. The trail from here marks the final 100 kilometres of the Camino Francis, the minimum distance pilgrims on foot need to walk to get their Compostela certificate (riders must cycle 200 kilometres). Parts of the route include slate steps that threaten to shred tyres and tracks that drop away steeply on one side. Moss-covered oak and ivy create tunnels through the canopy, and we are forced to dodge tree roots on the path. It’s more like mountain biking than cycling, and the kids gleefully speed off ahead, leaving me to roll merrily towards Portomarin, alongside trout-filled creeks buzzing with dragonflies and farmland dotted with long-horned cows and hay bales.

More pilgrims than ever crowd the 53 kilometre ride from Portomarin to Arzura. Sometimes we fast-track on bitumen signed for cyclists, but the camaraderie of the walking trail is addictive. Always a “buen camino”, a “hola”, a “buenos dias” as we pass; sometimes a clap and a comment that translates as “a complete family”, “those kids are fast” and “here comes mamma” as I bring up the rear. An itinerary upgrade has us resting that night at beautiful Pazo Santa Maria Hotel, an 18th-century building with geese in the garden and a dining room serving Galician baked cod and fried octopus.

Our final day’s 39 kilometre ride is the shortest, but it’s a slog in the heat until we reach a stretch of shady eucalypts that form cool green tunnels. Finally, from a hilltop we spot the distant Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, our Emerald City. Within an hour, we’re cycling through the city’s old streets and entering the cathedral’s spectacular Portico de la Gloria to join hundreds of pilgrims taking celebratory photos. We are all smiles. It’s a hallelujah moment, a celebration to end a great travel adventure, and an appreciation for a Christian pilgrimage that can bring joy, to even the most lapsed of Catholics.

THE DETAILS

THE TOUR
UTracks Spanish Camino by bike: Leon to Santiago, eight-day, self-guided cycle itinerary, from $2650 per person. Includes seven nights on a twin-share basis, seven breakfasts, six dinners, mountain bikes (with helmet, repair kit, lock, panniers, water bottle and pump), luggage transfers, digital info pack, bike delivery, pilgrims passport and an emergency hotline. Electric bike upgrades from $330. See utracks.com/Camino-Tours

GETTING THERE
British Airways flies from London to Santiago de Compostela. Rail Europe trains run from Santiago to Leon to commence the start of the bike ride. See raileurope.com; britishairways.com

The writer was a guest of UTracks.