Guide
How many steps is the Camino de Santiago?
From Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino Francés covers about 773 km. In steps, that's roughly a million. Here is how to work it out with your own stride, how long it takes on the way or at home, and what the Compostela requires.
The short answer: about a million steps
The Camino Francés, the most walked route to Santiago, starts in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the French Basque Country and covers about 773 km across northern Spain, according to the city of Pamplona's official Camino site. Guidebooks give figures between about 770 and 790 km, depending on detours and where you sleep.
With a typical walking step of 70 to 80 cm, that's between about 970,000 and 1.1 million steps. Call it a million.
Work it out with your own step
The number of steps in a kilometre is simply 1,000 divided by your step length in metres:
- 70 cm step: about 1,430 steps per km, so about 1.1 million steps for the Camino.
- 75 cm step: about 1,330 steps per km, about 1.03 million steps.
- 80 cm step: 1,250 steps per km, about 970,000 steps.
You don't need to guess yours: on iPhone 8 and later, the Health app records your walking step length automatically when you walk steadily on flat ground. You'll find it in Health, under Mobility. With a backpack and on hills, your step gets shorter, so count a little more.
How long it takes
On the way: many pilgrims walk 20 to 25 km a day. At 25 km a day, 773 km take about 31 days of walking; at 20 km a day, about 39. Add rest days, and the full Camino Francés is often a five-week trip.
At home, with your daily steps (75 cm step):
- 5,000 steps a day (3.75 km): about 206 days, nearly 7 months.
- 8,000 steps a day (6 km): about 129 days, a little over 4 months.
- 10,000 steps a day (7.5 km): about 103 days, under 3 and a half months.
My own floor is 5,000 steps a day: walking the Camino from home would take me about seven months, one ordinary day at a time.
The main stages of the Camino Francés
From the Pyrenees to Galicia, the route goes through Roncesvalles, just after the climb over the mountains, then Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, the plateau of the meseta to León, Astorga, the mountain village of O Cebreiro on the way into Galicia, Sarria, and finally Santiago de Compostela.
The Compostela: the last 100 km
To receive the Compostela, the certificate given by the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago, you must walk at least the last 100 km of a recognised route (200 km by bike), and get your pilgrim's passport, the credencial, stamped along the way: twice a day on that last stretch, according to the Pilgrim's Office. That's why so many pilgrims start in Sarria, a little over 100 km from Santiago.
A virtual walk, however long, doesn't earn the Compostela: it's a way to prepare, to dream, or to walk the Camino when you can't leave.
Walk it from home
I made WalkQuest to give my daily steps somewhere to go. Its Camino de Santiago journey follows the same towns, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago, and moves you along the map with the walking distance your iPhone or Apple Watch already records in Apple Health. Each stop is celebrated as you reach it.
To be clear about the numbers: the journey in WalkQuest is 655 km, because it joins the ten towns on a simplified route, while the real path winds for about 773 km. It's one of WalkQuest's Premium journeys; two journeys are free. Nothing leaves your iPhone, and there's no account.
Questions walkers ask
How many steps are there in a kilometre?
1,000 divided by your step length in metres: about 1,330 steps with a 75 cm step, 1,430 with a 70 cm step, 1,250 with an 80 cm step. The Health app on iPhone measures your own walking step length under Mobility.
How many steps is the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port?
About 773 km, so roughly a million steps: between about 970,000 and 1.1 million depending on your step length.
Can I get the Compostela by walking the Camino virtually?
No. The Compostela requires walking at least the last 100 km of a recognised route in person, with a stamped credencial. A virtual walk is a way to prepare or to enjoy the route from home.
Why is the Camino 655 km in WalkQuest and 773 km on the ground?
WalkQuest joins the main towns of the Camino Francés on a simplified route, which is shorter than the real path with all its bends. The towns and their order are the same.