The latest records of brave pilgrims

Curiosities about the record of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, highlighting the years with the highest influx, the record number of Compostelas issued, and how the popularity of the Camino has grown over time, with information about the most traveled routes and the events that drive these increases.

That the Camino de Santiago is not a competition is well known, but we are always drawn to the challenges that many pilgrims complete along the Jacobean routes. Long distances, reduced mobility, or record times are some of the stories that have been shared by pilgrims in recent years.

Ultra-trail pilgrim

Maite Rojo is a super runner who completed the Primitive Way in 64 hours after departing from Oviedo last March 2025. With her challenge and her arrival at the Praza do Obradoiro, where family, friends, and the association Mi Princesa Rett were waiting for her, Maite wanted to raise awareness about rare diseases and care for the elderly.

In 2024, Maite also stood out by completing the Way of the Lighthouses in a record time of 38 hours and 45 minutes, covering the 200 kilometers between Malpica and Fisterra. Despite how tough the experience was, with multiple challenges such as physical exhaustion and difficulties with footwear, Maite achieved her goal and became the person who has completed this route in the best possible time. Although her latest feat was demanding, Maite is recovering quickly and is already thinking about her next challenge. Certainly, an inspiration for all women on the Camino de Santiago.

Arturo Piñeiro surpasses himself again: 4,700 km from Estonia to Santiago

In 2024, Arturo Piñeiro completed an impressive journey by bicycle of 4,700 km from Estonia to Santiago de Compostela. During the trip, he traversed Baltic countries and major cities such as Tallinn, Prague, and Warsaw, facing challenges like Hurricane Kirk in Castilla and complicated roads in Estonia. Although he endured difficult moments, such as crossing the Alps and his visit to Auschwitz, Arturo also enjoyed incredible landscapes and moments of reflection.

This is not his first major challenge: in 2021, he traveled 3,926 km from Oslo to Santiago in 23 days. Now, with his sights set on his next challenge, he plans to depart from Istanbul. His passion for cycling and the Camino de Santiago continues to grow.

The Camino is an accessible challenge

While the previous case involved 4,700 kilometers, the Swiss Cristian Salamin traveled the 5,400 kilometers that separate Trondheim (Norway) from the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. In 2021, we found him in Sarria, already in the last 100 km of the French Way and very close to achieving this dream record. A dream indeed, as this passionate cyclist, accustomed to covering 10,000 kilometers annually by bicycle, saw his passion nearly cut short in 2015 when he suffered a stroke at just 50 years of age. Now he is recovered and more alive than ever, and in fact, he comments that the illness was "a second chance and a second birth".

With this record, he wants to raise awareness and make the world conscious that this disease exists, but it is possible to live with it. His pilgrimage, dubbed Ride for stroke, and more information can be found on its website, is made possible thanks to his tenacity and positivity, as well as the assistance of a companion who drives the motorhome where he rests, provided by his sponsors. His case also reminds us of the initiative "I'll Push You", where "bicycle pilgrims" with reduced mobility and accompanying pilgrims and "pushers" of wheelchairs testify that the Camino de Santiago can, and must be, for everyone.

The faith that moves mountains and pilgrims

Carlota Valenzuela, a 30-year-old young woman from Granada, began her pilgrimage in early 2022 in Finisterre with a clear goal: to reach Israel, walking 6,000 kilometers. Her journey of 311 days was driven by her faith and spirituality, allowing her to connect with people from different cultures, who helped her on her journey. Carlota emphasizes that most people were kind and willing to help, which gave her confidence to walk the path alone. Her journey culminated in the Holy Land, where she pilgrimaged to the sacred places, entering Jerusalem in early December with her family.

From standard uniform to Santiago

On June 7, 2021, four members of the Air Force completed the Primitivo Way in 24 hours, covering the últimos 100 kilometers of the Primitivo Way between Lugo and Santiago de Compostela. Despite the heat, blisters, and a small injury, they managed to arrive together at the Plaza del Obradoiro, where they were welcomed by local authorities and received their Compostela. This challenge, which combined personal promises and military values, also served to strengthen the spirit of camaraderie among the participants.

To the End of the World in a Day

Gaetano Cupa is an Italian from Naples passionate about the Camino de Santiago, and he has walked it about twenty-seven times. Many such cases are already known among the collective memory of pilgrims, but what is astonishing about Gaetano is that he has just covered the distance of the Way to Finisterre and Muxíain just over twenty-four hours. He set off in October 2021 from the Plaza del Obradoiro with the intention of reaching Finisterre and then Muxía without stopping except to eat, walking day and night. And he did just that, although there were challenges along the way. He completed his adventure in Muxía with a happy ending, and who knows, he might already have another route in mind, for as he himself states, "the best Camino is always the one you have to take tomorrow".

The Challenge of the Rugby Club Ferrol: the English Way playing rugby

In 2014, about twenty players from the Rugby Club Ferrol completed the 113 km of the English Way from Ferrol in less than 24 hours. As a promise for their promotion to the 1st Galician category, they traveled the route alternating between running and cycling, passing a rugby ball at all times. They set off at 6 in the morning and arrived at the Plaza del Obradoiro at 8 PM, after a single one-hour stop at the Bruma Shelter, with an impressive average speed of 8 km/h.

Pilgrimage as a promise of a new life

José Antonio García Calvo, better known as José "the Pilgrim", has traveled more than 100,000 km in recent decades, fulfilling a promise made to the Virgin of Carmen after surviving the shipwreck of a boat in Norway, where he was the only one of the seventeen crew members to survive. After that traumatic event, he began to pilgrimage to Santiago. After seven years of recovery, he started walking and has visited places such as Jerusalem, Rome, Lourdes, Poland, Tibet, etc. All of this, always "without taking a boat or a plane," as he himself states.

These extreme pilgrimages take place due to the Jacobean passion of their protagonists, who enjoy the Ways to Santiago as if it were their first time. If you haven't done it yet, you should take the plunge and experience it, only then can you understand everything that is felt while pilgrimaging and why people do the Camino. You don't need to be an ironwoman or an ironman to surpass these records, the important thing is to enjoy the Camino at your own pace: if you want, discover with us the most comfortable and easy Camino de Santiago.