CAMINO KOALA
Camino Francés · Itinerary

Leon to Santiago de Compostela

Starts with a magnificent cathedral and crosses the mountains into Galicia. Skips the Meseta. Popular 2-week option.

13 stages306 km11-15 days6,820 m ascentBest May - Jun, Sep - Oct
Build my Camino from LeonSee all 13 stages
Back to the Camino Francés and its other starting points
to Santiago de Compostela
306 km
walking days
13 stages
with the arrival night
14 days
total ascent
6,820 m
places to stay
1,084
OverviewStage by stageElevationOther startsPlan it
Overview13 stages · 306 km

Walking the Camino Francés from Leon

From Leon it is 306 km to Santiago de Compostela along the Camino Francés, walked here in 13 stages at an average of 23.5 km a day. Most pilgrims arrive the afternoon before, sleep in Leon and set off early on day one, so plan for 14 days plus any rest days you want.

Day one goes from Leon to Villadangos del Páramo, 20 km with 220 m of climbing. The last day into Santiago de Compostela starts in O Pedrouzo, 19.5 km. The longest stage is Rabanal del Camino to Ponferrada at 32.5 km, and the biggest climb is 1,180 m on the way to O Cebreiro.

The walk passes through 3 regions: Castilla y León - Mountains (3 stages), Galicia (3 stages), and 100 km to Santiago (5 stages). It covers more than the 100 km on foot the Pilgrim Office needs to issue your Compostela.

Week by week2 weeks · 13 stages · 306 km

The walk from Leon in weeks

Each block on the strip is one stage, sized by distance. The cards below group the stages into weeks, with the climb and the time each day takes. Flip a card for that week on the map.

13 stages, 306 kmEach block is one stage, sized by distance. Move along the strip.
Week 1 · days 1 to 7Leon to Triacastela7 stages · 172 km · up 3,720 m
1Villadangos del Páramo220 m160 mabout 4-5 hours20 km2Astorga250 m220 mabout 5-7 hours28.5 km3Rabanal del Camino380 m100 mabout 4-6 hours20 km4Ponferrada760 m1,180 mabout 7-10 hours32.5 km5Villafranca del Bierzo350 m350 mabout 4-6 hours22.5 km6O Cebreiro1,180 m850 mabout 7-9 hours28 km7Triacastela590 m1,130 mabout 5-7 hours21 km
Week 2 · days 8 to 13Triacastela to Santiago de Compostela6 stages · 133 km · up 3,090 m
8Sarrià470 m660 mabout 4-6 hours18 km9Portomarín580 m630 mabout 5-7 hours22.5 km10Palas de Rei610 m450 mabout 5-7 hours25 km11Arzúa610 m750 mabout 6-8 hours29 km12O Pedrouzo450 m490 mabout 4-6 hours19 km13Santiago de Compostela370 m440 mabout 4-6 hours19.5 km
ElevationFrom Leon to Santiago de Compostela, with the route before your start in grey

306 km of ups and downs

Move along the profile to read the height at any point.

Elevation profile6,820 m up and 7,420 m down from Leon, high point 1,510 m
Before LeonSaint Jean Pied de PortPamplonaLogroñoBurgosLeonSarriàSantiago de Compostela
Biggest climbsPlan a short day before or after
6Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro1,180 m4Rabanal del Camino to Ponferrada760 m10Portomarín to Palas de Rei610 m11Palas de Rei to Arzúa610 m7O Cebreiro to Triacastela590 m
Longest daysOr split them with a bed in between
4Rabanal del Camino to Ponferrada32.5 km11Palas de Rei to Arzúa29 km2Villadangos del Páramo to Astorga28.5 km6Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro28 km10Portomarín to Palas de Rei25 km
Other starting points5 more ways to walk the Camino Francés

Fewer days, or more?

Pick a start further along for a shorter walk, or earlier for the whole road.

Compare them all on the route page
Full RouteSaint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela33 stages · 769 km · 31-35 daysOpen itineraryMost PopularSarrià to Santiago de Compostela5 stages · 115 km · 3-7 daysOpen itineraryBurgos to Santiago de Compostela21 stages · 484 km · 19-23 daysOpen itineraryLogroño to Santiago de Compostela26 stages · 607 km · 24-28 daysOpen itineraryPamplona to Santiago de Compostela30 stages · 703 km · 28-32 daysOpen itinerary
Build my Camino

Turn this route into your plan, night by night.

Reading about the Camino Francés is the easy part. Build my Camino gives you a day by day plan with a bed to book for each night, so the only thing left is to walk it.

  1. Pick a start and a dateAny of the 6 starting points, or any town on the route. Day 0 is the night you arrive.
  2. Shape your daysShorten a long stage, add a rest day or split a hard climb in two. The plan redraws as you go.
  3. Book a bed for each nightLive prices for the dates you chose, in one tap. Walk-in albergues and donativos are marked, so you know where you can simply turn up.
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Then the trail

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Your saved Camino opens in the app with every town, date and stay exactly as you left it, and keeps working when the signal does not.

Day by day itinerary, offlineLive trail map and your positionToday: distance and climb leftBook a bed from the pathReplan mid walk, rest days includedDaily Cast, one episode per stage
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