The Spanish town of Santiago de Compostela has been a pilgrimage destination since the Middle Ages.  Better known by its Spanish name “The Camino.”  This trail is one of the oldest challenges worldwide.  Millions of people have travelled to Santiago de Compostela on these ancient roads, coming from all across Europe since Medieval times.

Nowadays, The Camino attracts more people than ever, as it has become a world-renowned challenge inviting people to surpass themselves and live a once in a lifetime experience,  regardless of age and background.  Every year more and more people reach the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.  Each with their own story and, of course their own reason.

Many of the legends relating to St. James are concerned with his travel to Spain and his activities there.   It is thus not surprising that he is the Patron Saint of Spain, and many Christians throughout the ages believed his body was buried in the town of Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia in northwest Spain.

The greatest of the legends states that in 813 AD a hermit was led by a vision to a spot where a body was found buried in a field. The body which had not decomposed was presumed to be St. James, and this fact was soon authenticated by the local bishop. Of course how the saint’s body ended up in Spain is shrouded in mystery,  the story spread, more miracles were reported, the faithful began to flock to the site, and have done so ever since. A church was built, a town grew up around it and eventually a great cathedral was built to house the Saint’s relics.

The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela became the most important Christian pilgrimage outside of the Holy Land. The traditional pilgrimage is known as El Camino de Santiago (in English: The Way of St. James), and it has always been a walking pilgrimage. In fact pilgrims have walked there from many sites all over Europe since the ninth century, so there are many different routes. The most travelled route is known as the Camino Frances; it starts at the border between France and Spain in the western Pyrenees, and winds its way for approximately five hundred miles across northern Spain.

The Camino Frances has been such a popular pilgrimage that it has been designated a World Heritage Site.