Hiking in Spain

The Camino de Santiago is Spain’s most famous walk and one of the few long-distance trails anyone can do without planning, because the whole route is lined with albergues (pilgrim hostels), cafés and yellow arrows. The Camino Francés runs about 780 km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France over the Pyrenees to Pamplona, across the wheat plains of the meseta through Burgos and León, and into green Galicia. Most people take 30 to 35 days.

You do not have to walk it all. To earn the Compostela certificate you need to walk at least the last 100 km, so Sarria, five or six days from Santiago, is the most popular start and the trail there is crowded in summer. Quieter options are the coastal Camino del Norte along the Basque and Cantabrian coast, the mountainous Camino Primitivo from Oviedo, and the Camino Portugués from Porto. Many walkers carry on from Santiago to Cape Finisterre on the Atlantic.

The Picos de Europa pack limestone peaks of over 2,600 m within 20 km of the sea. The Cares Gorge is the classic: about 12 km each way between Poncebos in Asturias and Caín in León, on a path cut into the cliff face above the river, with tunnels and long drops but no real climbing. Walk it as an out-and-back from either end, or arrange a taxi round (several hours by road).

From Poncebos a funicular or a steep path reaches Bulnes, a hamlet with no road, and the trail beyond leads to the foot of the Naranjo de Bulnes and the Urriellu hut. The Anillo de Picos is a demanding hut-to-hut ring through the three massifs over about a week. For easy walks, the lakes of Covadonga around Lake Enol and the Fuente Dé cable car on the Cantabrian side give you height without the climb. Fog rolls in fast here, so carry a map or offline GPS track.

In Ordesa y Monte Perdido, the valley walk from the Pradera de Ordesa to the Cola de Caballo waterfall is about 8 km each way, easy on the way up, with the higher Faja de Pelay balcony path for the return. Strong walkers carry on to the Góriz hut and climb Monte Perdido (3,355 m). In peak periods the valley road closes and you take the shuttle bus from Torla.

Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici in Catalonia is Spain’s best hut-to-hut country. The Carros de Foc links nine staffed refuges in a loop of about 55 to 65 km with roughly 4,600 m of total climbing, usually walked in five to seven days from July to September. Huts must be booked, and half board costs roughly 50 to 65 euros a night.

Mulhacén, the highest point of mainland Spain, is a long walk rather than a climb in summer. A park shuttle from Capileira in the Alpujarras takes you up to the Alto del Chorrillo, about 2.5 to 3 hours from the summit; the road from the north is closed to private cars at the Hoya de la Mora. Sleep at the Poqueira hut to split it into two days. Snow lingers into June; July to early October is the season. The Alpujarras villages below, Pampaneira, Bubión, Capileira and Trevélez, are linked by old mule paths and suit gentle multi-day walking in spring and autumn.

Mallorca’s GR221, the Ruta de Pedra en Sec (dry stone route), crosses the Serra de Tramuntana over about 140 km in six to eight days, on old mule paths between stone-walled terraces with hostels run by the island council. The stages around Sóller, Port de Sóller and Deià are the best known. On Menorca the Camí de Cavalls circles the whole island along the coast in about 185 km.

The Canaries are Spain’s winter hiking playground. On Tenerife, the Teide National Park has crater-floor walks around the Roques de García and the summit of Teide (3,715 m), which needs a permit, 15 euros for visitors from outside the Canaries. La Palma’s Caldera de Taburiente descent to the Cascada de Colores takes about six hours, and La Gomera has laurel forest in Garajonay and steep valleys around Valle Gran Rey. On Gran Canaria the short walk to Roque Nublo is the island’s signature hike. See our Spain national parks guide for permits and closures.

From Madrid, trains run to Cercedilla and buses to the Navacerrada pass in the Sierra de Guadarrama, where trails reach Peñalara (2,428 m), the highest point of the range. Montserrat, an hour by train from Barcelona, has paths up its serrated rock towers to Sant Jeroni above the monastery. From Valencia and Alicante the Montgó massif and the Penyal d’Ifac make half-day climbs over the sea. Further west, the Sierra de Gredos has the glacial cirque of the Laguna Grande, about a 2.5-hour walk each way from the Plataforma trailhead.

June to October is the mountain season in the Pyrenees, the Picos and the Sierra Nevada; huts open from about June, and July and August bring the most stable weather but afternoon thunderstorms. September is often the best month: warm, fewer people and still long days. Spring and autumn suit the Alpujarras, Grazalema, Mallorca and the Camino. The Canaries are good all year and best from October to May. Read our best time to visit Spain guide for regional weather.

• Huts: staffed refuges in the Pyrenees and Picos must be booked in summer, mostly online, and cost roughly 20 to 30 euros for a bunk or 50 to 65 euros half board. Bring a sleeping-bag liner.
• Waymarks: GR routes are marked red and white, PR routes yellow and white, local paths green and white.
• Guides: not required on marked trails; hire a mountain guide for glacier peaks such as Aneto.
• Rescue: call 112. Mountain rescue is free in most regions, but some regions can bill rescues caused by negligence or reckless behaviour, so take insurance that covers hiking.
• Getting there: many trailheads need a car; see our getting around Spain guide.