Discovering the Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago de Compostela is not only a road but a set of Christian Pilgrimage routes. These have a medieval origin, leading you to the Tomb of St. Santiago the Apostle, located in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.

Santiago, son of Zebedee, was one of the disciples and apostles of Jesus of Nazareth. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, James went to Spain and Portugal to carry the gospel of Jesus.

Seeing that his goal was about to fail, James decided to return to Jerusalem, where a king named Herod Agrippa I had him beheaded. After this, the disciples of the apostle Santiago secretly moved his body to northern Spain so they could bury it in a safe place.

By 813, a man named Paio claimed that the apostle Santiago appeared to him, telling him where his tomb was, and later arrived at the place and confirmed what he had been told.

To verify that the tomb found was that of the apostle Santiago, King Alfonso II walked from Oviedo to Galicia and ordered to build a small church when he confirmed the existence of the remains, to later rebuild it and know it today as the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

What is the Way of St. Santiago of Compostela, and which routes to follow?

The Way of St. Santiago is not only a road but a set of routes leading to the same destination across Europe, which unite France and Spain in some popular routes. Below we will describe the most popular ones.