Cross the rolling hills of the Tarn et Garonne region between the historic towns of Cahors and Lectoure. Traverse the centuries of time and the borders of Europe on the medieval pilgrim trail. In the 9th century, the tomb of the apostle St James was unearthed in Compostela. The site became the focus of a pilgrim trail beginning in France, and crossing northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. This journey, along the Via Podensis, the French Way of St James, takes pilgrims from Le Puy en Velay to the Pyrenees at St Jean Pied de Port. The route passes a multitude of churches and monasteries, resembling a travelling museum of Romanesque art. Six stages of this historic trail are included in our self-guided walking program in France.
This part of the journey takes you across limestone plateaus cut by small valleys, then on to the plain of the Garonne. The trail is lined with ancient stone walls. After Moissac the landscape changes to rolling hills and lush valleys where fields of corn and sunflower are intermingled with plum orchards.
Great scenic walking with demanding ascents and descents but comfortably within the capability of a walker used to the Fells. The organisation was excellent and everything worked seamlessly. The hotels were all good although the quality of the restaurants in the villages was mixed with good and bad experiences from what was recommended. A great week.
The trip was well run and our guide was excellent. The walks were more challenging than we thought they would be. The itinerary suggests that some are leisurely hikes - not so! It also suggests that on one of the days we walk on a pebbled path- not so! We actually climbed over huge rocks on a steep ledge with a sheer drop to the right. It was more challenging than the itinerary suggests. However the trip was brilliant as we had total faith in our guide. Perhaps you could give clearer explanations .
We had a spectacular trip. We did a self-guided trip in Piemonte and Tuscany/Umbria. The hotels were much nicer than we expected. Very comfortable and the owners/proprietors were so helpful. The transfer of luggage each day was seamless!
The routes were generally well marked and the app was very good. We didn't need anything more than the app. Only got lost twice which I'd say is pretty good. The routes were a bit more challenging than we expected. We choose two hikes which were marked as 'Introductory - Moderate' which were tougher than we expected. So just pay attention to this. At home, we would consider ourselves quite capable of moderate+ trails, but the classification in Italy is a bit more demanding.
Glad we wore hiking pants as we went through a lot of grasses so never had a concern about tics. Also were very happy we had hiking sticks with us. Invaluable on many of the trails.
I would definitely recommend them to anyone considering a hiking trip. And absolutely no problem doing the self-guided version.
Thank you!!
Griffy and Marg
Overall, it was an excellent experience. I would recommend this hike to friends. The only thing I would change is the val veny hike which I recommend providing a bus transfer to the hotel after a long days hike. If you make this change, people might give this tour a near perfect score.
We walked the Camino Norte which was spectacular and challenging some days. Overall we were very satisfied with UTracks. Their accommodations were basically good, sometimes we were pleasantly surprised and sometimes they were less than we hoped. We would consider booking again with UTracks.
San Sebastian, Santiago De Compostela, Noja, Galizano, Santander, Santillana Del Mar, Comillas, San Vicente De La Barquera, Bustio, Picos De Europa NP, Ribadesella, Colunga, Getaria, Villaviciosa, Gijón, Aviles, Soto Del Barco, Soto De Luiña, Cadavedo, Luarca, Navia, Ribadeo, Deba, Mondonedo, Abadín, Vilalba, Reguela, Sobrado Dos Monxes, Arzúa, Rua, Markina-Xemein, Gernika, Lezama, Bilbao, Castro Urdiales, Liendo
Well organised which made the whole trek lot more pleasant. The accommodation was all very good except for one that was average but quite doable. Overall, very pleasant experience, thanks!
Travelling at your own pace, you'll combine the elegance of eternal favourites like Ravello, Positano and Sorrento with discoveries most travellers never make such as farmers harvesting olives, fishermen crouched over brightly painted boats mending their nets and the bird's eye view of the entire peninsula from the Path of the Gods above Positano.
From Ravello, whose exotic formal gardens at Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone seem to float ethereally between sea and sky, your route takes you first to Positano's chic pastel houses and enticing pebble beach. It's then on to Marina del Cantone, and the hidden shingle coves few visitors ever find. Finally you reach cliff-top Sorrento. With balcony views over Vesuvius, it's a great base to visit Pompeii or Herculaneum by train, or Capri or Ischia by boat.