From Estella to Los Arcos, Camino Frances, Stage no. 6

Basic Information

• Starting Point: Estella, Spain – A historic town in Navarre, famous for its Romanesque architecture, medieval churches, and vibrant pilgrim community. In my opinion one of the nicest towns on the entire Camino Frances. Count with five pilgrim hostels and all facilities for pilgrims.
• Ending Point: Los Arcos, Spain – A small town with roughly 1,200 inhabitants, 4 pilgrim hostels and other accommodation options, and all basic services for pilgrims.
• Availability of alternative routes: Yes, – There is an alternative route in the first half of the stage. Taking this alternative you’ll avoid part of road walking, and escape the crowds for a while. You’ll have to cover a bit more elevation but not much, only 20 meters of ascent and descent extra. In my opinion, it is a route worth taking.
• Distance: Main route: 22 km (Download GPS here). Alternative route 21 km (Download GPS here).
• Online Map: Official camino way: here. Alternative route: here.
• Elevation Difference: Official camino: +420 m ascent, -385 m descent. Alternative way: +440 m ascent,-405 m descent.
• Difficulty Score: 2/5 for both official and alternative route.
• Beauty Score: 2/5 for the official route, 3/5 for the alternative way, which is a bit nicer with better landscape and views and a bit less road walking.
• Terrain/Asphalt Walking Ratio: Main Camino: 75% trails, 25% asphalt/road/right next to paved road. Alternative route: 85% trails/15% asphalt.
• Next stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 7, Los Arcos – Logrono.
• Previous stage: Camino Frances, Stage no. 5, Puente la Reina – Estella.

Elevation profiles for the routes

– Official Camino route, basically moderate climbing from the start until km 9, from there on it is mostly downhill all the way to Los Arcos. On the wast majority of today’s stage, the climb or descent gradient doesn’t exceed 6%. Slowly but surely, we’re getting closer to the really flat sections of Camino Frances.

– Alternative route, pretty similar profile to the official camino, just a bit steeper in both climb and descent from the highest point at km 9. You will also climb about 50 meters higher above sea level following this variant.

Advanced Info About the Stage

• Trail Marking: Both the official camino and the alternative route are well signposted, with no problematic spots along the route.
• Alternative Route Info: The alternative route is often also called the “mountain variant”, though it doesn’t really go into any serious mountains. But you climb a bit higher (50 meters higher than the official camino), enjoy a bit more trail walking and shade, and it is definitely nicer than the official camino. Both routes merge on km 12 of today’s walk. There are less services on the alternative route, but you pass by a small village of Luquin with a nice albergue (see the accommodation section below), and a bar that serves lunches and dinners. In my opinion, the alternative route is worth taking. You leave the official camino exactly here, continuing straight instead of turning right (it is well sign-posted), and reconnect with the official camino exactly here.
• Natural Places Worth Seeing: Nothing worth a particular mention, but as you can see on the pictures below, both variants offer some nice landscapes and views. Due to the flatness and openness of the country ahead of you, in good weather you can sometimes see dozens of kilometers ahead, if not a hundred. Sure, one isn’t in the Pyrenees anymore, but these places also have their unique charm. The nicest mountain around is Montejurra, with its interesting rock formations and fauna. It is seen better from the official camino route. If you wanted to climb to the top of it, however, you can make a detour from the alternative route. I have mapped for you the most easy way to the top here. Before deciding to do so, note that it is 4km extra up with 400 extra meters of elevation, and then you also have to climb down :). However, if you’re not in rush and book a place in the albergue in Luquin, it can be a nice day on a nice mountain for you…
• Historical, Architectural, and Culinary Places Worth Seeing:
  • The wine fountain of Irache. A fountain of wine for pilgrims, run by a local bodega. Not much to say here really, just treat it nicely and think of other pilgrims who will come after you (the bodega puts 100 liters of wine each day, which is sufficient if pilgrims consume moderately). Right on the Camino, location on Google maps here.
  • Monastery of Santa Maria de Irache, which used to be a pilgrim hospital back in the day. Dating back to 10th century, beautiful both outside and inside. Very close to the wine fountain and a wine museum, location and reviews on Google maps here.
  • Castle of San Esteban de Dejo, location and reviews on Google maps here. A beautiful place pitched on a top of a hill, altitude of 890 meters. Two kilometers walk from Villamayor de Monjardin (km 10 of today’s walk), signposted. The ruins date back to 11th century, and the place is well preserved until today. If you’re not in rush, for me personally this place is the highlight of today’s stage.
  • Church of St. Maria de Los Arcos, location and reviews on Google maps here. Definitely the nicest place to visit in Los Arcos, the ending point of today’s stage, church dating back to 12th century. Opens only for masses (and shortly before them), which is on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, from 7:15 pm to 8:15pm (not a bad time for pilgrim). They give prayer cards to pilgrims and there’s a pilgrim blessing after every mass.
• Camping/Bivouac Options on the Stage:
  • There is one organized camping place called Camping Iratxe, right on the camino. It is more oriented on families and people who rent bungalows, but it has camping ground where pilgrims can pitch a tent.  Location and reviews on Google maps here.  Prices change during the season (even with a lot of research I didn’t manage to find the actual prices, only the information that they change during the season), and they do not allow dogs, which is something I highly dislike about the camping. Anyway, the reviews aren’t bad and if you want to camp, this is your chance.
  • When it comes to wild camping, with a bit of improvisation you can hide close to the walls of a little visited chapel Ermita de San Vicente, exactly here. It is about 200 meters detour from the Camino, and you’re only 3km from Los Arcos, for a nice breakfast in the town next morning… The small hills around Los Arcos also look promising, but I do not know the area personally and I suppose there is a lot of private property and fences you’d have to cross to camp somewhere there.
• Dog-Friendly Score: 3/5. It isn’t a bad stage for dogs, considering you walk mostly on trails, and there are some nicely shaded spots. The water is sparse though, and I definitely recommend you taking an alternative route (mountain variant) if you walk with the dog. The biggest problem here is accommodation, since the only place that accept dogs is called Albergue Casa Alberdi, and it has really bad reviews on all platforms over the last few years. You can check it on Google here. However, if you walk with a dog and want to stay in Los Arcos, this is your option…
• Special Remarks: Today you’ll pass by the wine fountain, right on your camino. This is a highlight for many pilgrims. You should know though that the company refills the fountain only before 8am in the morning, and they may not refill it on Sundays. Hence if the pilgrims drank everything the day before, you won’t find anything in the tap before 8am :). Good to know if have high hopes of having some free wine here.

My picks for accommodation on this stage

1. Albergue Casa Tiago, Luquin (km 10, on the alternative route): A way to escape the crowds and enjoy a bit of calm in this charming little village. Location and reviews on Google maps here. 14 beds in 2 rooms, 13 euro/night, plus 4 euro extra breakfast. You can make a reservation on one of the following phone numbers +34 626 240 862, +34 948 537 159, but the place isn’t typically busy. Nice areas outside and inside the house, the only downside is that the beds are a bit old and soft, but nothing a pilgrim won’t survive for one night.
2. Albergue de Peregrinos de Los Arcos (km 22): Municipal albergue, the most affordable option in Los Arcos. 70 beds, 8 euro/night. Check-in from noon until 10pm. Can get extremely crowded in high season and it is a small for the number of people, so I recommend it especially in off season. Anyway, if you’re on budget, this is your place to stay in Los Arcos. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
3. Albergue Casa de la Abuela, (Los Arcos, km 22): In my opinion the best place in Los Arcos. 20 beds plus 4 private rooms, price 15 euro for a dorm bed, 27 euro if you take it with dinner and breakfast. Very nice host, the installations are clean and in good condition. Central location. Check in from 1pm to 5pm, you can make a reservation on one of the following numbers: +34 630 610 721, +34 948 640 250.

Pictures from the stage

– When you wake up to enjoy a romantic sunrise with a camino friend, but mother nature has different ideas 🙂

– Beautiful view from one of the high points of today’s walk. On the top of the hill you can see the Castle of San Esteban de Dejo (one of the place I recommend visiting, see the section above for more info).

– A typical landscape for the second half of this stage of the Camino

– At a wine fountain with a Spanish camino friend. We actually walked there in the evening from Estella on the day before, to be able to start early the next morning (the fountain opens only at 8 am)

Few Tips at the End

• Don’t skip the wine fountain, but don’t forget you’re a pilgrim, and not a tourist or a drunkard. For many pilgrims, the wine fountain is one of the highlights of their entire camino. After all, where back in your home country can you drink good wine for free, in as much abundance as you want to? However, we should not forget that we are on a pilgrimage, and that many pilgrims will come after us. The 100 liters of wine the bodega offers for free in their fountain every day isn’t limitless, and there’s also still a long hike in front of you today… Hence I recommend you treating the place moderately and with consideration for fellow pilgrims. Take a sip or two, make a picture, and move on. And if you want to make sure the place continues with its generosity, consider buying a bottle of wine from the bodega :).

Next/Previous Stage

• Next stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 7, Los Arcos – Logrono.
• Previous stage: Camino Frances, Stage no. 5, Puente la Reina – Estella.