The most beautiful Camino quotes: words about walking, pilgrimage and being on the road

Sometimes a single sentence says more than an entire guidebook. Pilgrims write quotes in their journals, on the first page of their pilgrim passport, or stick them on the fridge to remind themselves of the Camino back home. Here you'll find the most beautiful words about walking, being on the road and the Camino de Santiago – from philosophers of antiquity to voices of our own time.

We've sorted the quotes by theme. Read them all in one go, or take one with you on each morning's stage.

Setting off: the first step

"Do not say, 'When I have time, I will…' – perhaps you will never have time. If not now, when?"

– From the Talmud, one of the most important writings of Judaism

"The most difficult road a person can travel is the one between intention and action."

– Bertrand Russell, British mathematician and philosopher (1872–1970)

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

– Laozi, Chinese philosopher (6th century BC)

"The Camino begins to work on you as soon as you decide to walk it."

– Pater Erich (b. 1969)

"The Way begins at your home."

– "El camino comienza en su casa": a common answer in Spain to the question of where the Camino begins

Being on the way is the goal

"The road is always better than the inn."

– Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer (1547–1616)

"If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads!"

– Anatole France, French writer (1844–1924)

"Often the goal lies not at the end of the path, but somewhere along its edge."

– Ludwig Strauss, German writer (1892–1953)

"The point of travelling is to reach a destination; the point of hiking is to be on the way."

– Theodor Heuss, first President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1884–1963)

"Only the direction has meaning. What matters is that you are walking towards something, not that you arrive."

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer (1900–1944)

"I believe that everything would go better if people walked more."

– Johann Gottfried Seume, German writer (1763–1810)

Through the world on foot

"Only where you have been on foot have you truly been."

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet (1749–1832)

"People need earth beneath their feet, or their hearts wither."

– Gertrud von le Fort, German writer (1876–1971)

"You conquer a landscape with the soles of your shoes, not with car tyres."

– Georges Duhamel, French writer (1884–1966)

"Walking is man's best medicine."

– Hippocrates of Kos, Greek physician (c. 460 – c. 370 BC)

"Hiking is an activity of the legs – and a state of the soul."

– Josef Hofmiller, German writer and Nietzsche scholar (1872–1933)

"Travel far and you'll be well-travelled."

– Peter Sirius, German aphorist (1858–1913)

"Walkers are not made, they are born."

– Henry David Thoreau, American writer (1817–1862)

"Man's real home is not a house, but the Road, and life itself is a journey to be walked on foot."

– Bruce Chatwin, British writer (1940–1989)

"Only on the road do you experience that feeling of fairy-tale enchantment."

– Erich Kästner, German writer (1899–1974)

"A short journey is enough to renew both us and the world."

– Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935)

"The greatest sight there is, is the world! – Go and look at it!"

– Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935)

We are all pilgrims

"We are all pilgrims, walking by very different paths towards a common meeting place."

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer (1900–1944)

"No pilgrim ever comes home without one prejudice fewer and one new idea more."

– Thomas More, English statesman and humanist (1478–1535)

"The Camino is a journey of the soul."

– Shirley MacLaine, American actress and writer (b. 1934)

"You walk to Jerusalem to find Jesus, you go to Rome to see the Pope, but on the road to Santiago de Compostela you seek yourself."

– Spanish proverb

"The heaviest luggage on a pilgrimage isn't in your backpack."

– Torsten Marold, German game designer (b. 1962)

Walking your own way

"Paths are made by walking them."

– Franz Kafka, German-language writer (1883–1924)

"Someone can show you the way, but you have to walk it yourself."

– Bruce Lee, Chinese-American actor (1940–1973)

"No path is harder for a person to walk than the one that leads to themselves."

– Hermann Hesse, German-Russian-Swiss writer (1877–1962)

"You have to find your dream, then the path becomes easy."

– Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)

"There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Do not ask, walk it."

– Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and classical philologist (1844–1900)

"Only those who walk their own path can never be overtaken."

– Marlon Brando, American actor (1924–2004)

"It is not the path which is the difficulty; rather, it is the difficulty which is the path."

– Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (1813–1855)

"A new path is always a risk. But if we have the courage to set off, then every stumble and every misstep is a victory over our fears, our doubts and our misgivings."

– Democritus, Greek philosopher (c. 459 – c. 370 BC)

Slowly but steadily

"There is no road too long for the one who advances slowly and without undue haste."

– Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (1645–1696)

"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop."

– Confucius, Chinese philosopher (551–479 BC)

"Whether you hurry or walk slowly, the road ahead of you stays the same."

– From China

"Those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the right road, than those who run and stray from it."

– René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher (1596–1650)

"Better to limp along the right road than to stride firmly off it."

– Augustine of Hippo, Latin Doctor of the Church and philosopher (354–430)

"From time to time we must stop and rest, and wait for our souls to catch up with us."

– Native American wisdom

"Withdraw now and then from whatever occupies you."

– Bernard of Clairvaux, French Cistercian abbot and theologian (1091–1153)

Goal, meaning and answers

"Only at the end of our path do the answers await."

– Laozi, Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism (6th century BC)

"Only those who know their goal will find the way."

– Laozi

"Whoever knows nothing of the goal will not find the way."

– Christian Morgenstern, German poet and writer (1871–1914)

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

– Confucius

"Experience is a lantern carried on our back: it only ever lights the stretch of path we have already left behind."

– Confucius

"There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way."

– Buddha, Indian sage (563–483 BC)

"There is no way to peace, for peace is the way."

– Mahatma Gandhi, Indian lawyer (1869–1948)

"The extraordinary does not happen on smooth, ordinary paths."

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Even from the stones placed in your path, you can build something beautiful."

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Sometimes the path only reveals itself once you start walking it."

– Paulo Coelho, Brazilian writer (b. 1947)

And at the beginning of everything

"Everything begins with longing!"

– Nelly Sachs (1891–1970)

Perhaps this very longing is the reason you're reading this right now. Then the first step isn't far away.

Is your favourite quote missing?

Do you know a quote or saying that belongs in this collection? Write to us at info@caminoninja.com – we'll be happy to add it to this page.

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