One of the reasons I love hiking in Spain so much is the sheer diversity. There’s truly something for everyone. You’ll find everything from coastal hikes that finish in medieval fishing villages, to the highest mountain in mainland Spain, to ancient pilgrim routes like the Camino de Santiago.
These are the 10 best hikes in Spain, with real distances and ascent for each one, so you can tell at a glance which are a half-day outing and which need a week. Four of them are the routes on our own self-guided hiking tours in Spain, so those numbers come from trails we send people on rather than from a map. Andorra, the tiny Pyrenean country on Spain’s northern border, gets its own section at the end, because it’s close enough to add to a Spanish trip and almost nobody thinks to.
TL;DR: the best hikes in Spain
The Costa Brava coast path for the sea, the Spanish Pyrenees and the GR11 for high mountains, the Alpujarras and Mulhacén for southern Spain, and the Camino de Santiago if you want the company of other hikers.
Best hike in Spain overall
The Costa Brava coast path on the GR92. It’s 96.7 km (60 miles) with 1,967 m (6,453 ft) of climbing over six hiking days, and you finish every single day in a different seaside town. It’s also the route of our Costa Brava hiking tour.
Best hike in Spain for a first multi-day trip
Also the Costa Brava. Five of the six days climb less than 500 m (1,640 ft), there’s a swim at the end of most of them, and the trail is waymarked the whole way.
Best hike in southern Spain
The Alpujarras, on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, finishing on Mulhacén at 3,479 m (11,414 ft), the highest peak in mainland Spain. Our Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada hiking tour covers it in 82.2 km (51 miles) over six days.
Best hike in northern Spain
The Camino Lebaniego through the Picos de Europa, 73 km (45 miles) over three to four days, and far quieter than the Camino de Santiago.
Most famous hiking trail in Spain
The Camino de Santiago. The full French Way is 825 km (513 miles), and roughly 200,000 people a year finish it. Most people do the last 100 km (62 miles) from Sarria, which takes five to six days.
Hardest hike in Spain
The GR11 Sendero Pirenaico, 840 km (522 miles) and around 39,000 m (127,950 ft) of climbing across the whole Spanish Pyrenees, in about 45 days.
When to hike in Spain
April to June and September to October almost everywhere. July and August are too hot for the coast and the south, which is exactly when the high Pyrenees are at their best.
The 10 Best Hikes in Spain, Compared
| Hike | Region | Distance | Ascent | How long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Costa Brava coast path (GR92) | Catalonia, northeast coast | 96.7 km (60 miles) | 1,967 m (6,453 ft) | 6 hiking days |
| 2. Cadaqués to the Cap de Creus lighthouse | Catalonia, Costa Brava | 16 km (10 miles) loop | 447 m (1,467 ft) | About 6 hours |
| 3. El Port de la Selva to Sant Pere de Rodes | Catalonia, Costa Brava | About 10 km (6 miles) return | About 500 m (1,640 ft) | Half a day |
| 4. Montseny to Montserrat | Catalonia, inland mountains | 117.5 km (73 miles) | 4,549 m (14,925 ft) | 6 hiking days |
| 5. Camprodon to the Vall de Núria | Spanish Pyrenees, Catalonia | 84.6 km (53 miles) | 3,831 m (12,570 ft) | 6 hiking days |
| 6. GR11 Sendero Pirenaico | The whole Spanish Pyrenees | 840 km (522 miles) | About 39,000 m (127,950 ft) | About 45 days |
| 7. The Alpujarras and Mulhacén | Sierra Nevada, Andalusia | 82.2 km (51 miles) | 4,461 m (14,636 ft) | 6 hiking days |
| 8. Camino de Santiago, last 100 km (62 miles) | Galicia, northwest Spain | 100 km (62 miles) | Rolling, no big climbs | 5 to 6 days |
| 9. Camino Lebaniego | Picos de Europa, Cantabria | 73 km (45 miles) | Steady valley climbs | 3 to 4 days |
| 10. La Gomera crossing | Canary Islands | Varies by route | Steep volcanic terrain | 7 days |
Our Self-Guided Hiking Tours in Spain and Andorra
We run four self-guided hiking tours in Spain and one in Andorra. Self-guided means you hike on your own schedule with your own people, and we handle everything that makes planning a hiking trip in Spain a headache: the hotels, the luggage transfers between them, the GPS tracks and route notes, and someone to call when the trail does something unexpected. No group, no guide out in front, no fixed pace.
| Hiking tour | Where | Distance and ascent | Difficulty | Season | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Brava Hiking Tour 8 days, 6 hiking days | Sant Pere Pescador to Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Catalonia | 96.7 km (60 miles), 1,967 m (6,453 ft) | Good first trip | March 1st to November 14th, not July or August | €885 |
| Mountains of Catalonia Hiking Tour 8 days, 6 hiking days | Viladrau to Montserrat Monastery, Catalonia | 117.5 km (73 miles), 4,549 m (14,925 ft) | Moderate to Challenging | March to November, not July or August | €1045 |
| Spanish Pyrenees Hiking Tour 8 days, 6 hiking days | Camprodon to the Vall de Núria, Catalonia | 84.6 km (53 miles), 3,831 m (12,570 ft) | Moderate to Challenging | Spanish Easter Week, then April to November | €1075 |
| Alpujarras & Sierra Nevada Hiking Tour 8 days, 6 hiking days | Trevélez to Capileira, Granada province, Andalusia | 82.2 km (51 miles), 4,461 m (14,636 ft) | Moderate to Challenging | March to November, not July or August | €1050 |
| Andorra Hiking Tour 8 days, 6 hiking days | Soldeu to Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra | 71.4 km (44 miles), 5,315 m (17,440 ft) | Moderate to Challenging | May 1st to October 30th | €1195 |
Every one of them includes all seven nights with breakfast, your luggage moved between hotels so you hike with a daypack, GPS tracks and route notes in an app personalized for your trip, an in-person welcome briefing on day one, a free custom training plan valued at €300, and WhatsApp support while you’re on tour.
Not sure which one suits you? Our free AI Hike Finder asks about your fitness, your scenery preference and your dates and matches you to a route in a couple of minutes.
Before we get to the hikes themselves, here’s why Spain is worth a whole trip rather than a long weekend.
How Long Are the Hikes in Spain? From Half a Day to 45 Days
You’ll find everything from easy day hikes with enormous views to multi-week traverses. Beginners and experienced hikers alike can hike to a lighthouse in half a day and eat lunch overlooking the Mediterranean, or take on a 45-day crossing of the wild Pyrenees, and there’s everything in between.
If you have the time, I’d push you toward a longer hike, because you’ll want to spend as much time in Spain as possible. To date I’ve done three long-distance hikes in Spain and I have several more planned. But even with half a day you’ll find thousands of gorgeous Spanish hikes, easy through to challenging.
Recommended Reading: Trekking: How to Choose a Trek That You´ll Love
Spanish Hikes Combine Culture, Food and Mountains in a Way Few Countries Manage
Spain is one of the best countries in the world for combining hiking with culture. Trails here lead to UNESCO World Heritage sites, thousand-year-old monasteries, Moorish villages and Romanesque chapels that are still standing because nobody ever built a road to them.
Each region offers something different, and it’s remarkable how much the food changes along the way, which is a very good reward at the end of a hiking day. That shift in the cooking from one valley to the next is a big part of why I love long-distance hikes that cross several regions.
Hiking in Spain Means Hiking in Comfort, Not Camping
Another reason I’m such a fan of hiking trips in Spain, especially in the warmer months, is how comfortable they are. Almost wherever you hike in Spain there’s a village at the end of the day with somewhere to stay and a view worth the climb.
I love being outdoors all day. I also want a regional dinner someone else cooked, a hot shower and a comfy bed at the end of it. I’m not one for heating beans over a camp stove. In Spain you can have both, which is not true of every hiking destination in Europe.
Spain also has more than 60,000 km (37,280 miles) of signposted paths, so navigation on the popular trails is straightforward. I’d still hike with GPS tracks loaded and a backup, because waymarks fade and junctions multiply.
Many Hiking Trips in Spain Support Rural Tourism
Spending several days hiking in Spain means your money lands in small places that need it. That matters to me. At a time when so many destinations are struggling with over-tourism, plenty of others would be delighted to see a few more visitors.
Stay in a remote village and you’re supporting the local economy directly. And those villages, most of which I’d never heard of before I hiked into them, tend to have the best trails and end up being my favorite places. Somewhere like Besalú in Catalonia, or the medieval villages in northern Spain.
The 10 Best Hikes in Spain
Ordered by region rather than by difficulty, starting on the Mediterranean coast, working inland to the Pyrenees, then south to Andalusia and north to Galicia. Some are the best day hikes in Spain and take a morning. Others are the best hiking trails in Spain for a whole week. There’s something here for every level of hiker.
1. Hiking the Costa Brava Coast Path, Catalonia
96.7 km (60 miles), 1,967 m (6,453 ft) of ascent, 6 hiking days. Good first trip.
Best for: anyone who wants their first multi-day hike to end with a swim.
With 200 km (124 miles) of coastline, the Costa Brava gives you a huge range of hikes. The coast path runs along the top of cliffs thirty meters above water you can see straight through, drops into sheltered coves, cuts through vineyards and climbs over headlands, and the highlights come one after another: Salvador Dalí’s house at Portlligat, the Cap de Creus lighthouse at the easternmost point of mainland Spain, and the Sant Pere de Rodes monastery looking down over the sea.
You also get views of the Pyrenees along the way. I loved this stretch of coast so much that we now run it as our 8-day self-guided Costa Brava hiking tour from Sant Pere Pescador to Sant Feliu de Guíxols, in partnership with a locally owned Catalan company. Five of the six days climb less than 500 m (1,640 ft), so there’s time for a long lunch and a look around each town before dinner.
If you only have a day for hiking on the Costa Brava, do one of the next two.
Related Reading: Best Hiking Underwear: Top Picks for Wool, Moisture-Wicking and Antichafing
2. Cadaqués to the Cap de Creus Lighthouse, Past Salvador Dalí’s House
16 km (10 miles) loop, 447 m (1,467 ft) of ascent, about 6 hours. Moderate.
Best for: a day hike with almost non-stop sea views and lunch at the end of the earth.
This loop out of Cadaqués takes about six hours and barely leaves the coastline. On the way you pass Portlligat, where Salvador Dalí lived and worked for most of his life in a house he built out of a row of fishermen’s huts. The lighthouse at the far end sits on the easternmost point of mainland Spain, on a headland of wind-twisted rock that looks like it was sculpted on purpose, and there’s a restaurant there for lunch before you loop back.
Related Reading: The Best Hiking Tents For Every Backpacker
3. El Port de la Selva to the Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery
About 10 km (6 miles) return, roughly 500 m (1,640 ft) of ascent, half a day. Steep but short.
Best for: hikers who want a monastery, a ruined castle and a picnic in the same morning.
This one is steep, and worth every step. Set in the Serra de Rodes range, Sant Pere de Rodes was a Benedictine monastery and the most powerful in the county of Empúries from the 11th to the 14th century, and the Romanesque church at its heart is still standing. The views over the Cap de Creus and the Mediterranean from up there are the best on this coast.
You can carry on up to the ruined castle on the peak above and eat your lunch in it, or eat at the restaurant at the monastery instead. The trail follows the GR11 up from El Port de la Selva, so bring plenty of water. It’s a long outing if you hike both ways, and a taxi back down is a perfectly respectable life choice.
Related Reading: Day Hiking Packing List: The Essentials to Bring on Every Hike
4. Montseny to Montserrat: Hiking the Mountains of Catalonia
117.5 km (73 miles), 4,549 m (14,925 ft) of ascent, 6 hiking days. Moderate to Challenging.
Best for: hikers who can’t decide between a hiking holiday and a sightseeing one.
An hour inland from Barcelona, three protected mountain ranges sit in a row, and you can hike across all of them in a week. You start in Viladrau in the Montseny UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which is protected for the beech, oak and fir forest that somehow survives this far south, cross the Cingles de Bertí cliffs above the Congost valley, climb through Sant Llorenc del Munt i l’Obac, and finish on foot at Montserrat, the thousand-year-old Benedictine abbey wedged into a mountain of rock towers.
Along the way you pass Sant Miquel de Fai, a monastery built under an overhanging cliff with a waterfall in front of it, and medieval villages like Mura where the stone roofs haven’t changed in centuries. Our Mountains of Catalonia hiking tour runs the whole route in 8 days, and the last night is inside the monastery grounds at Montserrat, which is as quiet as it sounds once the day visitors go home.
If you only have a day, Montserrat makes an easy trip out of the city. See Hiking Montserrat From Barcelona: Best Trails, Routes and How to Get There.
5. Camprodon to the Vall de Núria: Hiking the Spanish Pyrenees
84.6 km (53 miles), 3,831 m (12,570 ft) of ascent, 6 hiking days. Moderate to Challenging.
Best for: hikers who want high passes and summits without the crowds of the Alps.
This is the quiet end of the Pyrenees. The route runs from Camprodon through Molló and Setcases to Ribes de Freser and the Vall de Núria, a high valley with no road into it at all. The only ways in are on foot or on a rack railway that was built in the 1930s and still climbs 1,000 m (3,280 ft) through a gorge to get there, which is why the valley stays as empty as it does.
The high point is Les Borregues at 2,687 m (8,816 ft). These are proper mountain days, and they cost a fraction of the same week in the Alps: our Spanish Pyrenees hiking tour starts at €1075 against €1649 for our Tour du Mont Blanc in private rooms. For more routes across the whole range, including the French side, see Hiking in the Pyrenees: Best Multi-Day Routes.
If you want just a day in the area, the Vall de Núria has a lot of good ones.
6. The GR11 Sendero Pirenaico: the Hardest Hike in Spain
840 km (522 miles), around 39,000 m (127,950 ft) of ascent, about 45 days. Challenging.
Best for: experienced long-distance hikers with a free month and a stubborn streak.
I’ve hiked parts of the GR11, along the Costa Brava and in the Vall de Núria, and the whole thing sits at the top of my hiking bucket list, not just for Spain but for all of Europe. GR stands for Gran Recorrido, the network of waymarked long-distance trails you’ll find across Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The GR11 runs the entire Spanish Pyrenees west to east, from Cape Higuer in the Basque Country, through Navarre and Aragon, to Cap de Creus in Catalonia. Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea, or the other way around. You pass through cultures and landscapes that change completely as you go, and languages with them: Basque in the Basque Country, Catalan in Catalonia, with Spanish understood everywhere.
At 840 km (522 miles) with around 39,000 m (127,950 ft) of climbing, this is one for serious hikers, and the ascent is why it takes about 45 days rather than 30. If that sounds wonderful but slightly too much, our Spanish Pyrenees hiking tour gives you six days of the same range with a hotel at the end of each one, or you can pick a village along the route and do a day hike from it.
Related Reading: Average Hiking Speed: Why it’s Important and How to Calculate it
7. The Alpujarras and Mulhacén: the Best Hiking in Southern Spain
82.2 km (51 miles), 4,461 m (14,636 ft) of ascent, 6 hiking days. Moderate to Challenging.
Best for: hikers who want mountains and whitewashed villages, and who like the idea of snow above olive groves.
Southern Spain surprises people. An hour from Granada, the Sierra Nevada rises to 3,479 m (11,414 ft) and holds snow into June, and on its southern slopes the Alpujarras are a run of whitewashed Moorish villages with flat clay roofs and square chimneys that look like nowhere else in the country. The paths between them are the old mule tracks and the irrigation channels the Moors built, still carrying snowmelt down the hillsides a thousand years later.
Our Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada hiking tour bases you in three villages rather than moving you every night: two nights in Trevélez at 1,476 m (4,842 ft), one of the highest villages in Spain, two in tiny Mecina Fondales in the Taha valley, and three in Capileira above the Poqueira gorge. On the last hiking day you choose: the Poqueira Gorge Circuit along those water channels, or the summit of Mulhacén itself, the highest peak in mainland Spain. The whole route sits inside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, protected since 1986 for the plants that grow here and nowhere else.
Related Reading: Best Lightweight Sleeping Bags, Pads and Liners for Every Hiker
8. Hiking the Camino de Santiago: Spain’s Most Famous Trail
825 km (513 miles) for the full French Way, or 100 km (62 miles) for the last stretch from Sarria over 5 to 6 days. Mostly gentle.
Best for: solo hikers, and anyone who wants company and conversation at the end of each day.
This thousand-year-old pilgrimage, the Way of Saint James in English, is Spain’s most famous hiking trail by a distance. You can hike the full 825 km (513 miles) of the French Way, or just the last 100 km (62 miles) from Sarria, which is what I did and which is the minimum for a Compostela certificate.
Wherever you start, you finish in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, at a cathedral where, according to legend, the apostle Saint James is buried. In medieval times up to a million pilgrims a year made the journey. Now it’s roughly 200,000. The last 100 km (62 miles) is relatively flat, which is part of why it’s the most popular stretch; the start, in the Pyrenees, is anything but.
It’s also the obvious choice if you’re hiking alone and want to meet people. What struck me about the other pilgrims was how fast the conversations got deep. You find yourself telling complete strangers things you haven’t told your friends, and they do the same. There’s something about the Camino that opens people up.
See my post The Camino De Santiago: What the Last 100 km is Really Like.
9. The Camino Lebaniego: the Best Hike in Northern Spain
73 km (45 miles), 3 to 4 days. Moderate.
Best for: hikers who want the Camino experience without the Camino crowds. Hiking in northern Spain is greener, wetter and far emptier than the south.
This is the hidden Camino, and it runs through one of my favorite places in all of Spain, the Picos de Europa National Park. It starts at San Vicente de la Barquera on the Cantabrian coast and finishes at the Santo Toribio de Liébana monastery, where pilgrims come to see the Lignum Crucis, said to be the largest surviving piece of the cross.
I’ve hiked part of the Camino Lebaniego and loved it. The whole thing is only 73 km (45 miles) and takes three to four days, which makes it one of the best short multi-day hikes in Spain. You can start from Santander, Comillas or Liébana instead, which lengthens it and adds a stretch of the Camino del Norte, and from the monastery you can keep going on the Ruta Vadiniese, which connects to the Camino de Santiago and the French Way.
10. Hiking on La Gomera in the Canary Islands
7 days to cross the island. Steep volcanic terrain, short days.
Best for: winter hiking, and anyone who wants four landscapes in one week.
The second smallest of the Canary Islands, La Gomera changes faster than anywhere else I’ve hiked. I did a 7-day hiking tour of the island and the highlights ran one into the next: the best-preserved laurel forest in the world, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and which I am contractually obliged to point out shares my name, then the coast with a swim in the Atlantic, then a volcanic landscape where the red earth genuinely made me feel like I was hiking on Mars.
It also supports rural tourism, because you stay in tiny out-of-the-way villages. And if you want solitude, La Gomera is the place: it gets nowhere near the visitor numbers of nearby Tenerife, which also has excellent hiking. The Canaries are the answer to “where can I hike in Spain in January”, too.
Read Hiking in La Gomera: Why You’ll Want to Do a 7-Day Self-Guided Hike. If you only have a day, pick one of the days from that itinerary. It’s genuinely hard to recommend just one, because every day was different.
Related Reading: 42 Gifts for Outdoorsy People: Outdoor Gift Ideas for Every Adventurer
Hiking in Andorra: the Pyrenean Country on Spain’s Northern Border
71.4 km (44 miles), 5,315 m (17,440 ft) of ascent, 6 hiking days. Moderate to Challenging.
Andorra isn’t Spain, but it’s a three to four hour bus ride from Barcelona airport and it’s the single most overlooked hiking destination in the Pyrenees, so it’s worth adding to a Spanish hiking trip. The whole country is 468 square km (181 square miles) of mountains, with no airport, no railway station and no coast, which is exactly why the trails stay quiet while the Alps fill up.
What it does have is more than 60 glacial lakes and three summits over 2,870 m (9,415 ft) that you can reach on a day hike. On our Andorra hiking tour you reach a high mountain lake on five of the six hiking days. Day 5 hikes the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley, Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site and the last corner of the country with no road into it, and day 6 puts you on Comapedrosa at 2,942 m (9,652 ft) with most of a whole country below you.
All seven nights are in 4-star hotels in Soldeu, La Massana and Escaldes-Engordany, from €1195, which for a high-mountain week in Europe is a price that still surprises us.
When Is the Best Time to Go Hiking in Spain?
April to June and September to October work almost everywhere in Spain. July and August are too hot for the coast and for Andalusia, which is precisely when the high Pyrenees are at their best, so the country gives you somewhere to hike in every month of the year if you move with the season.
| Region | Best months | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Brava | March to June, September to mid-November | Warm enough to swim from May onward, and the coast path is in full sun |
| Mountains of Catalonia | March to June, September to November | Inland and sheltered, so July and August get uncomfortably hot |
| Spanish Pyrenees and Andorra | Mid-June to the end of September | The high cols need the snow off them, and summer up here is pleasant |
| Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada | April, May, September, October | Snow lingers high into June, and the valleys bake in midsummer |
| Camino de Santiago | May, June, September | Galicia is green because it rains; these months are the driest and least crowded |
| Canary Islands | November to April | This is where you hike in Spain in winter, in shorts |
Recommended Reading: The Best Hikes in Europe
Who Are the Best Hiking Tour Companies in Spain?
Monkeys and Mountains is one of the best hiking tour companies in Spain because we go a long way past booking your hotels and moving your bags, and because we work with a locally owned Catalan company rather than running Spain from a desk in another country.
We’re the only hiking company in Europe that includes a free personalized hiking fitness program (worth €300), so you’ll train for the actual hike you’ve booked, even if you live somewhere flat, and feel good on the trail rather than just surviving it.
On all four of our Spain hiking tours and on Andorra you also get a private, in-person welcome briefing on day one, where we answer your last-minute questions and give you the latest trail conditions.
As a small company working with trusted local partners, we actually remember your name. Our rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 187 reviews, referrals from past clients are our single biggest source of new bookings, and previous clients get €100 off their next tour when they refer a friend.
Spain’s official tourism board makes the case for the country better than I can: 10 reasons hikers should travel to Spain.
Self-guided hiking tours in Spain and Andorra, 8 days from €885
Coast, Pyrenees, Catalan mountains or Andalusia. All seven nights booked, luggage moved between hotels, GPS tracks and route notes, an in-person welcome briefing and a free custom training plan.
Hiking in Spain: FAQs
Where is the best hiking in Spain?
The best hiking in Spain is in four regions: the Costa Brava coast in Catalonia, the Spanish Pyrenees, the Sierra Nevada and the Alpujarras in Andalusia, and Galicia on the Camino de Santiago. If you only pick one, the Costa Brava coast path on the GR92 is 96.7 km (60 miles) with 1,967 m (6,453 ft) of climbing over six days and finishes each day in a different seaside town. We run all four regions as self-guided hiking tours in Spain: Costa Brava, Mountains of Catalonia, Spanish Pyrenees and the Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada.
What is the most famous hiking trail in Spain?
The most famous hiking trail in Spain is the Camino de Santiago. The French Way is 825 km (513 miles) from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, and roughly 200,000 people finish it each year. Most hikers do the last 100 km (62 miles) from Sarria over five to six days, which is the minimum distance for a Compostela certificate. The second most famous is the GR11 Sendero Pirenaico, 840 km (522 miles) across the whole Spanish Pyrenees.
What are the best hikes in southern Spain?
The best hikes in southern Spain are in the Alpujarras, on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada in Granada province. The high point is Mulhacén at 3,479 m (11,414 ft), the highest peak in mainland Spain, and the Poqueira Gorge Circuit traces the irrigation channels the Moors built to carry snowmelt down to the villages. Our Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada hiking tour covers 82.2 km (51 miles) and 4,461 m (14,636 ft) of ascent over six hiking days, based in Trevélez, Mecina Fondales and Capileira. Go in April, May, September or October; the valleys are too hot in July and August.
What is the best hike in northern Spain?
The best hike in northern Spain is the Camino Lebaniego, a 73 km (45 mile) route through the Picos de Europa that takes three to four days. It starts at San Vicente de la Barquera on the Cantabrian coast and finishes at the Santo Toribio de Liébana monastery. It is far quieter than the Camino de Santiago, which also finishes in northern Spain, at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. For a longer trip, you can extend the Camino Lebaniego from Santander or Comillas, which adds a stretch of the Camino del Norte.
How many days do you need for a hiking trip in Spain?
Eight days is the sweet spot for a hiking trip in Spain: six hiking days plus arrival and departure, which is how all four of our self-guided hiking tours in Spain are built. That is long enough to cross a whole mountain range or a full stretch of coast rather than doing day hikes out of one hotel. With four or five days you can hike the Camino Lebaniego through the Picos de Europa, and with one day you can hike Montserrat from Barcelona or the Cap de Creus loop from Cadaqués.
When is the best time to go hiking in Spain?
The best time to go hiking in Spain is April to June and September to October, when it is warm but not hot almost everywhere. The exceptions are the high Pyrenees and Andorra, which are best from mid-June to the end of September once the snow is off the cols, and the Canary Islands, which are the place to hike in Spain between November and April. July and August are too hot for the Costa Brava, the Catalan mountains and Andalusia, and our tours in those three regions do not run in those months.
What is the highest mountain you can hike in Spain?
The highest mountain you can hike in mainland Spain is Mulhacén, at 3,479 m (11,414 ft), in the Sierra Nevada above Granada. It is a hike rather than a climb, with no technical sections, and it is the optional last day of our Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada hiking tour. Spain’s highest point overall is Teide on Tenerife at 3,715 m (12,188 ft), which needs a free permit for the final section to the summit.
Is hiking in Spain good for beginners?
Yes, hiking in Spain is good for beginners, and the Costa Brava coast path is the route to start with. Five of its six days climb less than 500 m (1,640 ft), the trail is waymarked, and you sleep in a town every night rather than in a mountain hut. Our Costa Brava hiking tour is graded Good first trip for exactly that reason. You do need to be fit enough to hike six days in a row, which is what the free custom training plan included with every tour is for.
Do you need a guide to hike in Spain?
No, you do not need a guide to hike in Spain. There are more than 60,000 km (37,280 miles) of signposted paths and the long-distance GR routes are waymarked throughout. A self-guided hiking tour is the middle ground: we book the hotels, move your luggage between them, give you GPS tracks and route notes in an app personalized for your trip, meet you in person on day one and stay available on WhatsApp while you are on tour, and you hike on your own schedule with your own people. See our self-guided hiking tours in Europe.
How much does a self-guided hiking tour in Spain cost?
Our self-guided hiking tours in Spain cost from €885 per person for 8 days on the Costa Brava, €1045 for the Mountains of Catalonia, €1050 for the Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada and €1075 for the Spanish Pyrenees, all based on two people sharing. That includes all 7 nights with breakfast, luggage transfers, GPS tracks and route notes, an in-person welcome briefing and a free custom training plan valued at €300. The same kind of week in the Alps costs considerably more: our Tour du Mont Blanc in private rooms is €1649.
Ready to Go Hiking in Spain?
Now you can see why I love hiking in Spain so much. Coast, high Pyrenees, Moorish villages under snow peaks, a thousand-year-old pilgrim route and a laurel forest in the Atlantic, all in one country, and my hiking bucket list here keeps getting longer rather than shorter. Happy trails.
Where to Stay in Santiago de Compostela
Use the map below to find a place to stay in Santiago de Compostela at the end of the Camino de Santiago. Zoom out to widen the search.