Stage from Somport to Jaca

To be the first stage of the Camino the mileage is high, although it is supported relatively well because the terrain is favorable. At the exit of Somport we have to pay attention where and how we tread because there is a risk of twisting.

See in Somport because snow is very likely to be found and it hurts well into the spring.

There are catering services in all villages that cross the route of the stage.

• The Aragonese road is the continuation of the Arles road that comes through France. A good and nice option for the most adventurous is to start the road in the French village of Oloron Sainte Marie. This option would add three stages to Somport, Oloron-Sarrance 20 km, Sarrance-Borce 22 km and Borce-Somport 17 km, but it is one more option than advisable.
• The credential can be obtained in the church of Santiago de Jaca, located at the confluence of the streets of the Coso and the Ferrenal.
• To get to Somport you have to take a bus at Jaca station, located on Avenida la Jacetania, s/n. The Mancomunidad del Alto Valle del Aragón is responsible for this service. There are 5 weather frequencies departing in Jaca: 8:25, 12:00, 14:50, 19:35 and 21:35. Schedules may vary by season. Another option is to sleep in Jaca and climb to Somport in the first service of the morning.
• On the top of Somport there is a private hostel for mountaineers and skiers. The hostel Aysa(Phone: 974 37 30 23). If we arrive in Somport in the afternoon we recommend walking the first 6.8 kilometers to Canfranc Station and staying in any of the 2 hostels proposed. It is also possible to divide this long stage thanks to the hostels located Canfranc (Km 11,2), Villanúa (Km 15,8) and Castiello de Jaca (Km 22,6)
• It is a pity for cyclists, but much of the route of the stage cannot be carried by bicycle given its technical difficulty. The most sensible thing is to go down the N-330 until Villanúa and continue with any of the variants marked until Castiello de Jaca. From this population it is preferable to return to the N-330 to Jaca.
• Another important fact to bear in mind is that after Jaca there are no ATMs until you reach Sangüesa (end of the fourth stage). So you have to put the money in Jaca for the second, third and fourth stages.

From the Middle Ages, the coming and going of European pilgrims to the tomb of the Apostle Santiago was shaping four great itineraries or routes that penetrated Spain: the Turonense, the Lemovicense, the Podense and the Tolosana. The first three were united before arriving at Saint Jean Pied de Port and were made one until Compostela by the French Camino. The last one, the Tolosana route, entered Spain through the Somport, port of the Oscense pyrenees where the Aragonese
ramal of the Camino de Santiago Francés begins, which is commonly called the Aragonese Path.

• HOSPITAL DE SANTA CRISTINA:
  Next to Candanchú, the Camino de Santiago surrounds its structure before crossing the river Aragon by the bridge of Santa Cristina. From the 11th century it was a comforting accommodation for pilgrims. Although in ruins since the 17th century, chapter IV of Book V of Codex Calixtinus defines it, together with the hospital of Jerusalem and the hospital of Mont Joux, as "one of the columns that the Lord established in this world to support his poor". Between 2003 and 2005, the company Sargantana S.L carried out excavation and consolidation tasks.
• CANFRANC STATION:
  The nucleus previously known by Los Arañones grew with the construction of the International Station in 1928. The town hall was moved to this point after the fire that ravaged Canfranc town in 1944. Good place of supply for the stage, as it has many bars restaurants, bakery, butcher and food shops.
  • Canfranc International Station:
    Inaugurated in 1928 by Spanish King Alfonso XIII and French President Gaston Doumergue, the Canfranc International Station was part of the ambitious railway communication project between Spain and France through the Aragon Valley. The transit of materials and passengers between the two countries lasted until 1970, when one of the bridges collapsed as a freight train passed. Fortunately, no victims. The overcrowded building, with 241 meters of facade, today is covered with scaffolding and cranes that intend to turn it into a hotel.
  • Silage tower:
    Leaving Canfranc Estación, after passing the N-330 tunnel and before going down to the dam of the reservoir, you can see this military fortification of the last quarter of the 19th century. It supported the new route of communication with France and has now been used as an exhibition hall. The tower, of oval plan, has four floors and is built in an armchair.
• CANFRANC:Due
  to the fit of the population between the N-330 and the Aragon River and the Pyrenean rocks, Albareda Street, which divides the town into two equal halves, is its only way forward. The steep terrain has not allowed it to change its physiognomy since its foundation in the 11th century. Until the 20th century it was the population closest to the border, so the continuous transit of people and the consequent trade and toll collection became their way of subsistence. A large part of the population left the village after the devastating fire of 1944 and the capital moved to the heart of Canfranc Estación.
  • Parish church of the Assumption:
    There was a Romanesque temple dedicated to the Assumption but the current one is the result of different constructive stages. One of them was Juan de Segura, a prominent 16th-century Ossetian teacher. Inside there are four baroque frames on the side chapels.
  • Medieval bridge:
    Commonly known as a bridge below, this is a restored medieval construction in the 16th century that allows crossing the Aragon River towards Villanúa.
• VILLANÚA:In
  the Middle Ages, like other villages in the valley of Aragon, in a convulsive scenario, Villanúa was formed and populated with people drawn to exploit the fertile fields of the bank of Aragon. In the 20th century, with the splendor of agricultural activity and the works of the Canfranc railway, Villanúa exceeded one thousand inhabitants. Today it is only half a thousand people who rely on services derived from tourism.
  • Cave of the Güixas:
    Before entering Villanúa the path passes by the cave of the Güixas (witches), a set of underground galleries adapted to tourism. The cave known as the Cathedral stands out, 16 meters high and with various columns of stalactites and stalagmites. The company Sargantana is in charge of organizing the visits, and you can contact them on the phone 974 373 217 or at the address: cuevas@sargantana.info. Due to humidity and low temperatures, it is convenient to wear warm clothing to visit them.
  • Church of St. Stephen: He
    retains some testimony of his Romanesque past but his present appearance is in the 18th century. The interior consists of two naves and two chapels and keeps a polychrome size of the Virgin of the 11th or 12th centuries.
• CASTIELLO DE JACA:Located
  in the lower part of the upper valley of Aragon, Castiello is also natural entrance to the valley of the Garcipollera, a natural and hunting environment with several depopulated. Known as the 'town of the hundred relics', thanks to the legend of a Valencian pilgrim who donated all the goods he had with him to Castiello's neighbors. These relics are kept in a sump that opens on the first Sunday of July.
  • Church of San Miguel:Located
    in the upper part of the town, it is the first building the pilgrim sees when entering Castiello de Jaca. Its primitive construction dates back to the 12th century, but its appearance has varied until the 19th century. The baroque altarpiece of the main altar stands out inside.
• JACA:Stop
  and official fonda of the first stage of the Camino de Santiago Aragonés, Jaca is located at 820 meters altitude, surrounded by the Aragon and Gas rivers. The benefits of its natural location did not go unnoticed and the Celtic tribes populated this place in one way or another. The same is true of the Romans, after their conquest in 195 BC by Consul Marco Poncio Catón. By the thousand year, three nuclei had consolidated themselves on the ruins of an abandoned Jaca after the collapse of the Roman Empire: the Royal Castrum, the nucleus of Santiago and that of San Pedro. The complex formed the city of Jaca, to which King Sancho Ramírez gave him the Fuero and named the capital of the young Kingdom of Aragon in 1077*. Besides visiting the monuments, after more than 30 kilometers of walking, what he most desired is to sit on a terrace and enjoy the atmosphere of the Plaza de la Catedral or walk peacefully through the commercial and bustling Calle Mayor.

  *Information collected from the work of Albergo Gómez García: Invisible guide of Jaca. Construction and disappearance of the old and medieval city.

  • St. Peter's Cathedral:It began
    to be built between 1075 and 1094 under the reign of Sancho Ramirez. It basically retains its Romanesque structure and configuration: a floor plan of three naves, headboard with three semicircular apses and two access doors, the south and the western or principal door. What the pilgrim can contemplate today is the result of several constructive stages that have contributed new built spaces and decorations. In the southern apse is summed up the language of the Khachian Romanesque, which is none other than the famous savory, a relief in the form of small cylinders that decorates friezes and arquivolts of windows and covers.
  • Diocesan Museum:Created
    in 1963, it was opened in 1970 to preserve valuable Romanesque paintings, stone and wood carvings, etc. of the churches of the diocese of Jaca. The museum is located in the Romanesque cloister of the cathedral and in adjacent rooms.
  • Clock tower:Civil
    gothic tower raised towards 1445 as private residence. Located in the Marqués de la Cadena square, it is currently the seat of the Pyrenees Working Community. Baptized by the nickname of the watch, it was also known as Torre del Merino (representative of the king in the city) and Torre de la Cárcel, as it became the seat of the jails of the city of Jaca.
  • Church of Santiago:It
    makes a corner between the streets Ferrenal and Coso, in what one day was the neighborhood of Santiago, a place where there was also the missing Puerta de Baños, where the pilgrim from Jaca went out to take the direction towards Navarra. The church was built in 1088 and clearly restored in the 18th century. The twin windows (double arc linked by a column) of the bell tower stands out.
  • Ciudadela de Jaca:
    Pentagonal defensive enclosure built by order of Philip II between the end of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Until the 19th century it was known as Castillo de San Pedro. In the pit of the enclosure, the deer run along.