From Zubiri to Pamplona - Viajes Camino de Santiago

Information

Today will be a stroll after the previous two. From Zubiri we start with a beautiful stretch along the banks of the river towards Pamplona, walking through wooded paths between beech and pine trees. In addition we will honor a famous saying of the game of the goose: “from bridge to bridge I pull because the current takes me”. We will cross the river Arga over the bridges of La Rabia in Zubiri, that of the Bandits in Larrasoaña, Iturgaiz in Irotz and that of La Magdalena until we reach our first big city on the French Way, Pamplona.

We will say goodbye to Zubiri in the direction of Pamplona in the same way we arrived: crossing the iconic Puente de la Rabia. We arrive at the huge Magna factory, where the local magnesite deposit is extracted. It is a curious place, to say the least, that we will have to go around to get to Ilarratz, a small village where we can rest, refill our canteens. We follow the Camino and arrive at Larrasoaña, a village with an important Jacobean tradition. We continue the route crossing the Bridge of the Bandits, where in ancient times the pilgrims who dared to cross it were robbed.

We will continue to Akerreta, where we will find the church of the Transfiguration, which still preserves medieval elements such as the tower, the façade and the baptismal font.

We continue along a beautiful path that takes us to the bridge of Zuriain, where we can stop at the bar La Parada de Zuriain, take the detour to Ilurdotz and cross the river Arga again to go to Irotz. We leave the church of San Pedro behind us and continue on to the Iturgaiz bridge, of Romanesque origin, and continue along a path that runs parallel to the national road. When we reach some farmhouses we have two options: To go up to the village of Zabaldika or to go along the left side of a cultivated field.

We continue on our way and we are presented with a new dilemma with two itineraries. On the one hand, we can follow the comfortable river walk, which will take us to Huarte, a village that is now part of the outskirts of Pamplona, or follow the path of the original Pilgrims’ Route to Santiago de Compostela, which continues from the same recreation area. Both variants come together a couple of kilometres further on.

We cross the national road through a tunnel and find the turn-off to Huarte. We continue in the same direction and go down to Trinidad de Arre, one of the most spectacular points of the stage and where the Camino de Baztan meets. It is worthwhile to take a break in the village and visit the Basilica of the Trinity and the church of San Roman.

We return to the road passing through the main street of Villava, famous all over the world for being the birthplace of the cyclist Miguel Induráin. We are now at the gates of Pamplona. Almost without transition we reach Burlada, cross the Magdalena Bridge over the Arga River, go around part of the wall and enter the old part of Pamplona, putting an end to our stage.

To consider

If we plan to arrive in Pamplona between the 6th and 14th of July we must be proactive or book in advance, as the accommodations are usually full and prices increase exorbitantly. We can also choose to extend the stage to Cizur Menor, which would mean walking about 5 kilometres more.