Napoleon or valcarlos

[DominiqueMich]

Hello everyone! I have a booking in Borda, and am a little confused as to which route I should take or do they both lead to Borda? Also, really want to see (weather permitting) the statue of the Virgin of Orrison. Is that on the Napoleon route?
Thank you in advance for all info!

 

[Former member 104756]

Hi there. Borda and the Statue are both on the Napoleon Route, not Valcarlos.

 

[DominiqueMich]

Hi there. Borda and the Statue are both on the Napoleon Route, not Valcarlos.

Thank you for your quick reply to my question! Much appreciated!

 

[DoughnutANZ]

The statue is not that imposing, in my opinion.

I suspect that most pilgrims walk past it without even realising that it is there.

I waited in the carpark close to the statue for several hours on one of the busiest days on record for that part of the Camino Frances while hundreds of pilgrims walked past, less than ten visited the statue.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I waited in the carpark close to the statue for several hours on one of the busiest days on record for that part of the Camino Frances while hundreds of pilgrims walked past, less than ten visited the statue.

Maybe your tiger had something to do with that.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Maybe your tiger had something to do with that.

Love it! But for clarity she is not my tiger, she just likes to share companionship with me. I guess that her Mum taught her to be independent.

 

[CWBuff]

Hi Welcome to the Forum
So.... off to the Napoleon Route you climb, say 2-2.5 hours you will come to a huge deck/veranda which belongs to Auberge Orisson (oh yeah kinda hard to miss that one too). Sit dow, take a load off, hava a sandwich and some Basqu beer... hopefully it is nice and sunny so enjoy the stupendous views of Pyrenees.

Then trudge perhaps another 1-1.5km to Borda (on your left IIRC)
next morning continue climbing slightly less than 3km and you'll come to The Virgin. Unless its way too foggy you can't miss here - The Camino takes a sharp turn to the right, there is a parking area at 9 o'clock and she is more or less 10 o'clock (if you know what I am saying) on some small stone outcropping.

Then after you finished your visit stop at the famous lunch truck and soon after you will be coming accross the Croix de Thibault and leave the road to follow the signs to the right.... you're almost out of France and into Espagna....

Buen Camino!!!!

 

[davejsy]

The statue is not that imposing, in my opinion.

It's not imposing, and therefore easily missed as you say.

But, it's the location of it that makes this a beautiful thing to see, I was lucky to see it in good weather, but equally in bad weather it must be a wonderful thing to stumble upon for many who will be on their first day.

 

[CWBuff]

It was MAGNIFICENT indeed ... I almos broke into Magnificat


9h00 22-May-22

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Then trudge perhaps another 1-1.5km to Borda (on your left IIRC)
next morning continue climbing slightly less than 3km and you'll come to The Virgin. Unless its way too foggy you can't miss here

You'll probably have plenty of time left on day one so you can drop your pack off at Borda and make a round-trip to The Virgin to see her in the afternoon too. You'll have twice the opportunity to get a good picture.

 

[DominiqueMich]

Hi Welcome to the Forum
So.... off to the Napoleon Route you climb, say 2-2.5 hours you will come to a huge deck/veranda which belongs to Auberge Orisson (oh yeah kinda hard to miss that one too). Sit dow, take a load off, hava a sandwich and some Basqu beer... hopefully it is nice and sunny so enjoy the stupendous views of Pyrenees.

Then trudge perhaps another 1-1.5km to Borda (on your left IIRC)
next morning continue climbing slightly less than 3km and you'll come to The Virgin. Unless its way too foggy you can't miss here - The Camino takes a sharp turn to the right, there is a parking area at 9 o'clock and she is more or less 10 o'clock (if you know what I am saying) on some small stone outcropping.

Then after you finished your visit stop at the famous lunch truck and soon after you will be coming accross the Croix de Thibault and leave the road to follow the signs to the right.... you're almost out of France and into Espagna....

Buen Camino!!!!

Thank you for such detailed info!

 

[howardd5]

Hello everyone! I have a booking in Borda, and am a little confused as to which route I should take or do they both lead to Borda? Also, really want to see (weather permitting) the statue of the Virgin of Orrison. Is that on the Napoleon route?
Thank you in advance for all info!

The Napoleon route is truly striking , it’s a challenging start but on a clear day quite a sight. I’ve been over it five times and proud to say down the trail I started on the Napoleon route , not Pamplona or Roncevalles or even v Carlos, “ start at the beginning and go on to the end “

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I’ve been over it five times and proud to say down the trail I started on the Napoleon route , not Pamplona or Roncevalles or even v Carlos, “ start at the beginning and go on to the end “

Hey, hey, come on now. We started in SJPdP and made it to SdC (and beyond) by using the Valcarlos route. The difficulty between the two isn't that much different.

Actually we would have liked to do the Napoleón ourselves but when the weather report indicates a good probability of lightning that isn't the way to go.

 

[CWBuff]

and then there is that whole "where EXACTLY is The Beginning. I thought it was my front door....

 

[dougfitz]

I thought it was my front door

I'm pretty sure that can't be right. Cos I was told it was at my front door

 

[SandyBELL]

Hello everyone! I have a booking in Borda, and am a little confused as to which route I should take or do they both lead to Borda? Also, really want to see (weather permitting) the statue of the Virgin of Orrison. Is that on the Napoleon route?
Thank you in advance for all info!

Borda is over the Napoleon route over the Pyrenees to get there it’s just passed Orisson. After your stay at Borda your reach the Virgen statue en route over the mountain. I don’t know when you intend to set off but the Pilgrims Office that you check in will tell you if the Napoleon route is open and safe if your going late March/early April time. Otherwise your have to walk the valley route via Varcarlos instead. There’s some great Apps out there that show you the entire route with satellite images so you can really get acquainted with the alternative routes, which sometimes can be a little more realistic then the various paper back guide books. I walked over and it was a fantastic experience. Buen Camino!

 

[CWBuff]

Somewhat off-topic...
I must be really getting old and my eye sight is suffering, for everytime that i get a notification on my phone that there is a new post on this thread - I read Napoleon on Vacation

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

and then there is that whole "where EXACTLY is The Beginning. I thought it was my front door....

Good luck with that because you have a long way to swim

 

[CWBuff]

well.. perhaps... but given the fact that I am mistaken and Camino actually starts at @dougfitz s door....

 

[dougfitz]

well.. perhaps... but given the fact that I am mistaken and Camino actually starts at @dougfitz s door....

... and with so much more swimming!