Irún to San Sebastián
The border
- Distance
- 24.7 km
- Climb
- 720 m up, 735 m down
- Ground
- 0 to 425 m
- Time
- 6 to 8 hours
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Underfoot
- coastal, mountain, forest, paved, dirt, urban
Where this day sits on the Camino del Norte
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 34 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
You begin at the Bidasoa river where France becomes Spain. Irún is quiet in the early morning and the sea is close but not yet visible. Within an hour the climb up Monte Jaizkibel has pushed the pulse into your ears and the Bay of Biscay appears below — grey or blue depending on the day, never still. The Santuario de Guadalupe above Hondarribia is where medieval pilgrims paused for the first prayer. By noon you drop into Pasaia, cross the harbour by a small passenger boat that has run for centuries, and climb again over Monte Ulía. San Sebastián reveals itself from above: the perfect arc of La Concha, the Urgull hill, the old town pressed against the water. The first day is harder than you expected. It is supposed to be.
What pilgrims often meet here
- Surprise at how steep Jaizkibel is after a flat Irún morning
- The Santuario de Guadalupe at Hondarribia — the first Marian sanctuary
- Pasaia ferry — a thirty-second boat ride across the harbour mouth
- First sight of La Concha bay from Monte Ulía
- Arriving in Donostia's Parte Vieja and feeling like the Camino hasn't really started yet
You have chosen the hardest of the Caminos. What does beginning feel like when the first day already tells you the truth about what you are in for?
The ground
A demanding first day. The climb up Monte Jaizkibel begins almost immediately out of Irún and reaches ~425 m with sweeping views back toward France. The descent into Pasaia crosses a small passenger ferry over the natural harbour, then climbs again over Monte Ulía before dropping into the Parte Vieja of San Sebastián. Many pilgrims split this stage at Pasaia (~10 km) or Hondarribia.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Irún depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
In Pilgrim's Honor mode you can walk this stage as it is drawn here, and save its maps for days with no signal. The morning opens with this day's word, The border, and its story. When you arrive, it asks the question above, and you can answer out loud. Your walk stays on your phone.
With Pilgrim on your phone, this opens the stage, ready to begin. Without it, you'll see the stage and where to get the app.