Camino de Madrid

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Church of Santiago y San Juan Bautista on the Plaza de Santiago in Madrid / Sahagún in the province of León, on the Camino Francés
• Length: 324.9 km
• Duration: 13 stages, avg. 25 km; two weeks with a rest day in Segovia
• Elevation: ↗ 2,935 m / ↘ 2,764 m
• Highest point: 1,792 m at km 80.5, Puerto de la Fuenfría between Cercedilla and Segovia
• Landscape: City outskirts and holm-oak pastures, the granite and pines of the Sierra de Guadarrama, the pine forests of the Tierra de Pinares, the Duero Valley, the Montes Torozos plateau, and the treeless Tierra de Campos
• Waymarking: Waymarked since 1996; yellow arrows, plus granite markers and ceramic tiles in the Madrid region
• Traces of St. James: The parish of Santiago in Madrid, dating back to the 12th century; the church of Santiago with its altarpiece to the apostle in Medina de Rioseco; and, at the finish, Sahagún, praised in the Codex Calixtinus
• Accommodation: Municipal and association albergues, mostly 3 to 10 € or by donation, plus hostales; the network only gets denser after Segovia
• Connecting routes: Camino Francés in Sahagún, toward León and Santiago
• Best time: Mid-April to June and September to mid-October; in winter there can be snow on the pass, and in July and August the Meseta is scorching hot

Overview

The Camino de Madrid is the route for anyone who wants to begin their Camino in the capital instead of first traveling to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. It starts on the Plaza de Santiago, about 200 meters from Almudena Cathedral, at a church whose parish was already dedicated to the apostle in the 12th century. Then it heads north, five days over the Sierra de Guadarrama to Segovia, and another eight days through Old Castile to Sahagún. There, after 324.9 kilometers, it joins the Camino Francés, from which, according to the Spanish federation of Camino associations, a good 358 kilometers remain to Santiago.

The route is young and old at the same time. In 1993 the Asociación de Amigos de los Caminos de Santiago de Madrid studied three historic routes heading north from the capital, and in 1996 it waymarked the one via Segovia. The pass it crosses is two thousand years old: on the Puerto de la Fuenfría you still walk on the paving of a Roman road that Galician harvest workers used well into the 20th century. So you are walking one of Spain's youngest Caminos on one of its oldest roads—and mostly alone.

Other Names

In Spanish the route is simply called Camino de Madrid; the federation also lists it as Camino de Santiago de Madrid. In English you'll see Madrid Way or Camino de Madrid, and German speakers occasionally call it Madrider Weg or Jakobsweg ab Madrid.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not So Ideal For

Ideal if you land in Madrid and want to start walking the same day: airport, metro, starting church, all within an hour. Ideal if you're looking for a Camino that opens with mountains and offers plenty of silence, and you'd rather not experience the great Meseta with hundreds of others. And ideal if you have time for the Francés: from Sahagún it's a good two weeks to Santiago, and the switch from solitude into the stream is part of the appeal.

Honestly, though, it's not for you if you need company every evening. Some nights you'll be the only guest in the albergue, and several villages in the Tierra de Campos have neither a bar nor a shop. It's not for you if you expect shade: beyond Simancas the landscape is almost treeless all the way to Sahagún, with temperatures above 35°C in high summer. It's not for you if you want to follow the arrows blindly—in the pine forests of the Tierra de Pinares even the federation warns that waymarks are hard to attach. And leaving Madrid takes a full day of big city.

Route & Landscape

Madrid to Segovia (km 0–103.2): From the Plaza de Santiago you head out through Tetuán and Valverde, via Tres Cantos (km 25.8) and Colmenar Viejo (km 37.7), to the granite boulders of Manzanares el Real (km 52.2) and its castle on the Santillana reservoir. Via Mataelpino and Navacerrada (km 66.6) you reach Cercedilla (km 72.4); Becerril de la Sierra lies one kilometer off the route. From Cercedilla you climb the Roman road to the Puerto de la Fuenfría, 1,792 meters at km 80.5, and descend through the pine forests of Valsaín. The village of Valsaín, with La Pradera de Navalhorno, lies a good two kilometers off the route. And then you're standing in Segovia (km 103.2).

Segovia to Sahagún (km 103.2–324.9): Past the Vera Cruz and Zamarramala (km 107.2) the plain opens up. Via Valseca, Los Huertos, and Añe you come to Santa María la Real de Nieva (km 138.1), then into the pine forests of the Tierra de Pinares with Nava de la Asunción (km 150.9) and Coca (km 161.0) above the Eresma gorge. Via Alcazarén (km 184.9) and Valdestillas (km 200.9) you reach the Duero at Puente Duero (km 209.9) and Simancas (km 215.7); Valladolid itself stays off to the east. Then the route climbs onto the Montes Torozos plateau: Ciguñuela, Wamba (km 229.7), Peñaflor de Hornija (km 237.4), Castromonte, and Medina de Rioseco (km 262.3). Finally the Tierra de Campos, with its adobe villages and dovecotes: Villalón de Campos (km 289.7), Santervás de Campos (km 305.8), Arenillas de Valderaduey on the border with the province of León, Grajal de Campos 0.8 km off the route, and Sahagún (km 324.6).

Stages, Terrain, and Difficulty

We show the route in 13 stages, the same division the federation uses; the distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 324.9 km. The surface is mostly farm tracks and gravel paths, plus old drove roads, the Roman road over the pass, and asphalt in the city.

1. Madrid → Tres Cantos (25.8 km) — leaving the city via Tetuán and Valverde, then Monte de Viñuelas and the first holm oaks.
2. Tres Cantos → Manzanares el Real (26.4 km) — via Colmenar Viejo to the granite world of La Pedriza and the castle on the reservoir.
3. Manzanares el Real → Cercedilla (20.2 km) — along the foot of the Sierra via Mataelpino and Navacerrada, climbing steadily.
4. Cercedilla → Segovia (30.8 km) — the queen stage: up the Roman road to the Puerto de la Fuenfría (1,792 m), then a long descent through the forests of Valsaín.
5. Segovia → Santa María la Real de Nieva (34.9 km) — the longest stage, open and shadeless via Zamarramala, Valseca, and Añe.
6. Santa María la Real de Nieva → Coca (22.9 km) — drove roads and pine forest of the Tierra de Pinares, ending along the Eresma canyon.
7. Coca → Alcazarén (23.9 km) — sandy tracks through the pines, via Villeguillo, the last municipality in the province of Segovia.
8. Alcazarén → Puente Duero (25.0 km) — via Valdestillas to the Duero, flat and peaceful.
9. Puente Duero → Peñaflor de Hornija (27.5 km) — Simancas with its archive and bridge, then up onto the Montes Torozos and through Wamba.
10. Peñaflor de Hornija → Medina de Rioseco (24.9 km) — via Castromonte and Valverde de Campos, finishing on a disused railway line.
11. Medina de Rioseco → Cuenca de Campos (21.9 km) — Tamariz de Campos, grain all the way to the horizon.
12. Cuenca de Campos → Santervás de Campos (21.6 km) — Villalón de Campos with its Gothic justice pillar, then Fontihoyuelo.
13. Santervás de Campos → Sahagún (19.1 km) — via Arenillas into the province of León, past Grajal to the Santuario de la Peregrina and into Sahagún.

The only technically difficult part is the pass, and only in snow, ice, or fog. What wears you down is the distance: stages 4 and 5 together come to almost 66 kilometers. If you want to split stage 5, there's a pilgrim albergue in Zamarramala just past Segovia; after that, options get thin. There are also variants, such as the one from Coca via Olmedo.

The Camino in Reverse: The Reapers of the Fuenfría

The road over the Puerto de la Fuenfría is the Roman Vía XXIV of the Antonine Itinerary, which linked Titulcia with Simancas. Until 1788 it was the main route across the Sierra; the kings traveled it to their hunting lodges at Valsaín and La Granja, and Philip II had a rest house and post station built below the pass, the Casa Eraso. The Venta de la Fuenfría even appears in Cervantes. Then, in 1788, the Puerto de Navacerrada was opened to carriages, and the court took the easier pass.

The ones who stayed were the Galicians. The federation writes that the Roman road was "usada hasta el siglo XX por los segadores gallegos que desde la provincia lucense venían a Castilla para la siega"—used until the 20th century by the Galician reapers who came from the province of Lugo to Castile for the harvest. Every summer the men of Galicia walked south to cut Castile's grain—on the very road you now take north toward Galicia. So you're making your pilgrimage along the commute of people who came from Santiago's own hinterland.

In practical terms: plan the Cercedilla–Segovia stage as a full day. The climb to the Fuenfría isn't steep, but it is long, there's nowhere to eat or drink at the top, and on the north side you face almost 20 kilometers of forest with no village on the route. From November to April there may be snow on the pass; in that case the road over the Puerto de Navacerrada is no alternative for walkers—the bus is. Check the weather beforehand with the Parque Nacional de la Sierra de Guadarrama, whose administration waymarked the section to Segovia itself in 2004.

Highlights Along the Way

• Santiago y San Juan Bautista in Madrid (km 0) — the starting church; the old parish of Santiago already existed in the 12th century, Joseph Bonaparte had it torn down in 1809, and it was rebuilt from 1811 to 1814. Inside hangs a Baroque Santiago Matamoros by Francisco Ricci.
• Castle of Manzanares el Real (km 52.2) — the Mendoza family's castle on the Santillana reservoir, set against the granite backdrop of La Pedriza.
• Puerto de la Fuenfría (km 80.5) — 1,792 meters, the highest point, with remains of the Roman road.
• Segovia (km 103.2) — the Roman aqueduct, 28.5 meters high at its lowest point, built around the year 50 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the old town since 1985; plus the Alcázar and the cathedral.
• Vera Cruz near Zamarramala (km 107.2) — a twelve-sided Romanesque round church of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, right on the route out of Segovia.
• Santa María la Real de Nieva (km 138.1) — church and cloister of the Dominican monastery that Queen Catherine of Lancaster founded at the end of the 14th century for the Virgen de la Soterraña.
• Castle of Coca (km 161.0) — a brick castle in Gothic-Mudéjar style; in 1453 Juan II granted Archbishop Alonso de Fonseca permission to build it, and in 1473 the master builder Alí Caro carried it out. A national monument since 1931; admission 3 € (as of October 2026).
• Simancas (km 215.7) — the bridge over the Pisuerga and the castle housing the Archivo General, the state archive of the Spanish Crown; the 15th-century church of El Salvador has a 12th-century tower.
• Wamba (km 229.7) — Santa María, one of the oldest church buildings in the province of Valladolid, begun in Mozarabic style and completed in Romanesque, with an ossuary.
• Medina de Rioseco (km 262.3) — the city of the admirals, with its arcaded streets and the Iglesia de Santiago, whose Churrigueresque high altar is dedicated to the apostle.
• Santuario de la Virgen Peregrina in Sahagún (km 324.6) — the former Franciscan monastery on the hill, end point of the federation's route; the Pilgrim Virgin has been the town's patron since 1758.

Three Routes, One Choice: Why the Way Runs Through Segovia

There was never just one Camino out of Madrid. The Xacopedia, the encyclopedia of the Camino de Santiago, describes the decision like this: "En el año 1993 la institución estudió las tres rutas históricas que desde la capital atravesaban Segovia, Arévalo y Ávila. Se escogió el primer itinerario, por ser el que más facilidades aportaba al peregrino." In other words, the association chose the Segovia route because it offered pilgrims the most conveniences—not because it was the only historic one. According to the Xacopedia, pilgrim traffic on these roads peaked in the 16th century and then faded away.

The revival came in stages, province by province. The association itself was founded by Madrileños in February 1987, after the parish priest of O Cebreiro, Elías Valiña, visited at the end of 1986—the man who brought the yellow arrows to the Camino Francés in the 1980s. In 1991 the Madrid association was a founding member of the Spanish federation, and in 1996 it painted the first arrows. The Madrid region set granite markers and tiles from 2001 to 2009, the national park administration waymarked the Sierra in 2004, the province of Valladolid followed in 2005, and the local action groups in Segovia and the province of León in 2006. Since 2018 the Madrid association has run its own 18-bed albergue in Santervás de Campos, housed in a building that was once a museum dedicated to Juan Ponce de León—the conquistador who found Florida.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The Camino de Madrid has no feeder route: it is the beginning itself. Most pilgrims arrive in Madrid by plane or train and take the metro to Ópera station, a few minutes' walk from the Plaza de Santiago. If you want to sleep as a pilgrim in the cathedral district on your first night: since April 2025 there has been a pilgrim albergue in the convent of the Comendadoras de Santiago.

If you have less time, start in Cercedilla (commuter train from Madrid) and cross the pass on day one, or start in Segovia, leaving a good 220 kilometers of Meseta to Sahagún. Many Madrileños walk the first half in weekend sections by train and bus.

Continue the pilgrimage?

Yes—and that's the whole point of this route: in Sahagún you're on the Camino Francés, roughly at its halfway mark. From here, according to the Spanish federation, a good 358 kilometers remain to Santiago, via León, Astorga, the Cruz de Ferro, O Cebreiro, and Sarria—a good two weeks on foot. From Sarria the last 100 kilometers count for the Compostela; if you come from Madrid, you've long since met that requirement anyway.

Sahagún itself is worth a night. Around 1140 the Codex Calixtinus calls the town "Sanctus Facundus, omnibus prosperitatibus affluens"—overflowing with every prosperity—and tells of the meadow where the lances of Charlemagne's warriors are said to have sprouted green leaves. According to the Xacopedia, the Benedictine monastery of San Benito kept seventy beds ready for pilgrims, and the bridge over the Cea dates back to Alfonso VI in 1085. Near Grajal the federation even points you to a "Camino de San Francisco": around 1214 Francis of Assisi is said to have passed through here on his own pilgrimage to Santiago.

Preparation & Practical Information

Credential and app. As on all Spanish routes, you need a pilgrim passport (credencial) to stay in the albergues and to receive the Compostela in Santiago at the end. It's best to order it online in advance so it reaches you in time for the start of your trip. On site, the Madrid association issues it in person at Calle Carretas 14 near the Puerta del Sol for 2 €, together with an information session (as of October 2026). With the Camino Ninja App you have the map and track offline; the easiest way to plan the route is right in the app, where you can put together your stages and plan suitable accommodation along the way.

Albergues and supplies. Between Madrid and Cercedilla there are hardly any classic pilgrim albergues, just parishes and guesthouses with a few places, for example in Tres Cantos, and hostales. From Segovia on the network gets denser, mostly small municipal albergues with 4 to 20 beds, often with the key kept at the town hall or the bar. Call ahead, and on the Meseta carry at least two liters of water.

Season. Spring and fall are ideal; in winter some of the small albergues are closed.

What the journey will cost you

The albergues are cheap: Peñaflor de Hornija 3 €, Nava de la Asunción and Coca 5 €, Ciguñuela and Castromonte 6 €, Villeguillo 8 €, Grajal de Campos 10 €; Alcazarén and the convent shelter in Medina de Rioseco work on donations (as of October 2026). Madrid and Segovia are pricier: in Segovia a bed in the private albergue costs around 18 €, a room in a hostal from 30 €; in Madrid hostels start at about 20 to 25 €.

Budget 30 to 40 € a day with albergue, bar breakfast, and pilgrim menu where there is one; with hostales, more like 50 to 70 €. On the Meseta you'll cook for yourself more often. Honestly, you save money here less by going without than because there's so little on offer.

Getting Here

To the start. Madrid-Barajas has direct flights from across Europe and North America; the metro gets you downtown in a little over 40 minutes, and Ópera is the closest station to the Plaza de Santiago.

Along the way. You can reach Cercedilla on the Renfe commuter train from Madrid, and Segovia by high-speed train in just under half an hour.

From the finish. Sahagún is on the Palencia–León railway line; via Palencia and Valladolid you can take Renfe back to Madrid or continue on to León. If you stay on the Camino Francés, you won't need a timetable.

• Rail: renfe.com — Madrid, Cercedilla, Segovia, Sahagún
• Association: demadridalcamino.com — Asociación de Amigos de los Caminos de Santiago de Madrid, credential and albergues
• Federation: caminosantiago.org — stage descriptions and albergue list from the Spanish federation of Camino associations