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Path between Monasterio de Leyre and Lumbier

Time of past OR future Camino
Frances 2016; Mansill de las Mulas to Finisterre/Muxia 2017; Aragones 2018; Suso/Yuso, Meseta 2019
This past year in order to go from the Monasterio de Leyre and Yesa to Liedena and the Foz de Lumbier I walked along the old highway from Yesa to Liedena. It was not bad but I have wondered if there is a better way. On Wickiloc I see that hikers go on a route from the monastery descending to Lumbier making the entrance to the foz closer for an early morning visit. Photos show stunning views. Have any of you gone this way? What is the path or trail like? Would go this way alone?
 
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If that plan requires that you miss either Xavier Castle or Sanguesa Cathedral, than I advise against. (But then, I've never walked the Lumbier....)
 
This plan would not eliminate Xavier Castle or Sanguesa Cathedral or any of the other churches or monasteries, but would add some glorious views. You must walk through the foz de Lumbier sometime, a special place!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Then go for it! ... But note: After crossing the Sanguesa bridge in late May 2018, and after several days of rain, the first few klicks were as wet and boggy as the Florida Everglades! Good luck!.

(And next time I will walk through the Lumbier!)
 
Last fall I was trying hard to figure out how to include everything, hence an 11 day journey on the Aragones instead of the usual 6 stages that leave out Javier, Leyre and the foz. This alternative path is shown on the caminosantiago.org site.

Each time we repeat a route, there will always be new things to see!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Can you post the link to the specific wikiloc you are considering?

I’m guessing that it’s a mountain bike path as that’s popular in that region. We walked alternative paths from Pamplona through Lumbier to Sanguesa and felt safe the entire time, though I’d recommend cell access in case of emergencies since a lot of that area is seldom traveled.
 

This came from the caminosantiago.org website listed as a variant. The road/path from Leyre starts just below the monastery and continues to Lumbier. I always travel with a cell for navigation and emergencies. My main concern would be falling off the side of the mountain.
 
That’s quite a path, crossing over the mountains and into the backside of Lumbier, bypassing the Foz. I’ve never done that, but all the paths I followed in that region seemed very safe to me.

My only reservation would be missing the walk THROUGH the canyon as part of my journey rather than just visiting it as a side trip, but that’s MY issue to analyze 😂.

If you’ve walked the Foz, definitely try the new route! (And post pictures for those that come after you.)
 
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I have every intention of walking through the canyon, just entering it from the other direction. Last fall in my efforts to plan to include everything I had to walk the old highway from Yesa to Liedena, after overnighting in Leyre. While not great, it worked. @amancio had mentioned seeing the foz early in the morning when the vultures are active, the way to do that is to overnight near by or rise really early.
 
Interesting - you’ll walk from Lumbier to Sanguesa then? Or?!?! Walked twice through the Foz (both times in the morning) and the vultures are pretty spectacular!
 
I am currently working on my plans for the fall, nothing is set yet. Can you tell me where you stayed the night before walking through the foz?
 
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Hotel Iru Bide in Lumbier - pretty much your only choice unless the campground is open. It’s on booking.com, though sometimes their posting doesn’t work so we’ll. Emails to them went unanswered, but calling to RSVP may work. $60 US or so.
FABULOUS dinner in the restaurant there, though, and their breakfast bicadillos are the best on the Camino (the ones they put out after 9am👍).

We’ve stayed there twice and were pleased with the spacious accommodations, not that we could somewhere else. 😜
 
I agree that the Hotel Iru Bide in Lumbier is a good place to stay. I stayed there for one night in October after walking the Foz. They were originally closed for a few days break but gave me a room since it was just one person.

Was your stay when you were walking in reverse?
 
Stayed there two times: we walked from Yesa to Lumbier in 2018 and then.Lumbier to Sanguesa in 2019.
 
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Walked to Lliedena and onto Lumbier - It’s near the brand new super highway, but you are walking on the old roadway next to it. It really wasn’t that bad and there was very little traffic. I think you posted the same route? The route across the mountains that you referenced on wikiLoc sounds fantastic though.
 
Yes, I believe that we walked the same route next to the highway. Not too bad nor too long. The link on post #8 has great maps and I printed one of the route as well as looked at the sat images. The middle part looks a little iffy on the sat view which is why I would like to hear of recent experience since I am bordering on old lady hood and walk alone. More research on wickiloc is called for, good thing that I read spanish!

An aside, you are from Sacramento?
 
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Seventh generation to live in Sacramento - VERY uncommon for California! I say walk the new route!
 
One day I should walk the northern route (Berdún-Asso-Sigües-Esco-Tiermas-Yesa/Leyre) since they try to promote this trail again. 20 years ago I stayed in Leyre with the monks, some years later new albergues made the southern part more attractive and after a while Leyre was only a rather long detour.
The detour from Undues to Javier and Sangüesa is well marked (wooden poles) and only a short part is tarmac. Javier - Yesa is mainly road walking and Leyre another hour uphill. If you walk the mountain hike towards Lumbier you can finish with SL-NA 113, which brings you right to the tunnel entrace / Foz.
Check this Map

Asso to Sigües on the northern route should have been recently marked, if I understood some internet pages right. There should be inexpensive accomodation in Berdún. Yesa has an albergue, Leyre, Liedena and Lumbier hotel. I don't know if you can still stay in the monastery of Leyre, so I would rather stay in Yesa and then walk to Liedena on the road.
So far it is not a marked trail on the map, but most paths/tracks should be in there.
 
One day I should walk the northern route (Berdún-Asso-Sigües-Esco-Tiermas-Yesa/Leyre) since they try to promote this trail again. 20 years ago I stayed in Leyre with the monks, some years later new albergues made the southern part more attractive and after a while Leyre was only a rather long detour.
The detour from Undues to Javier and Sangüesa is well marked (wooden poles) and only a short part is tarmac. Javier - Yesa is mainly road walking and Leyre another hour uphill. If you walk the mountain hike towards Lumbier you can finish with SL-NA 113, which brings you right to the tunnel entrace / Foz.
Check this Map

Asso to Sigües on the northern route should have been recently marked, if I understood some internet pages right. There should be inexpensive accomodation in Berdún. Yesa has an albergue, Leyre, Liedena and Lumbier hotel. I don't know if you can still stay in the monastery of Leyre, so I would rather stay in Yesa and then walk to Liedena on the road.
So far it is not a marked trail on the map, but most paths/tracks should be in there.

Thanks for this thread and that link to a Map. I am planning to walk the northern side of there reservoir this September and I did book a room at Leyre (tho it has been recommended to cab from Berdun at least to Tiermas rather than walk north side of Yesa Reservoir). I will also hope to get lucky with water level and stop at the baths at Tiermas as well. I'm hope to walk to Sanguesa from there and then thru Foz the next day. I was wondering how well it was marked and how much of that leg would be road walking. again I really appreciate the link to the Map and will look up the Wikiloc trails.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Just walked the northern route from Leyre to Artieda - it was AWFUL!!! Old route is almost completely underwater so you spend most of your time on a busy roadway with ZERO services (no water, toilet, stores, shade, etc). Tiermas and Esco are no more. Loved the idea of going the old way, but the reality was not so great.

As for Leyre, men can still stay in a spartan monk cell, but women and couples must book at the onsite hotel.
 
Berdun to Leyre would be a very long day, so cabbing isn’t a bad idea. The Tiermas area would be a good place to start the walk to Leyre since most traffic heads back up to the superhighway at that point.

From Lumbier to Sanguesa is mostly road walking, except the Foz of course. It’s not heavily trafficked nor very far, so that makes it bearable.
 
Just walked the northern route from Leyre to Artieda - it was AWFUL!!! Old route is almost completely underwater so you spend most of your time on a busy roadway with ZERO services (no water, toilet, stores, shade, etc). Tiermas and Esco are no more. Loved the idea of going the old way, but the reality was not so great.
I don't know if you know the other way. The southern side is not much better regarding shade, stores, toilets etc. There is not much left from Ruesta for the same reason.

It is always more complicated to walk in the opposite direction. If you plan such attempt it's better to google a bit. Just with the word Tiermas you can find many pictures with the ruins of that place. Escó is a bit trickier, but google maps offers a clear hint "Pueblo abandonado / abandoned village" so no surprice to find more ruins ;).
There should be some life in Sigües, Asso and Berdún still (it's 20years that I have been in the last one).
Did you walk that after Artieda?

@Amy
Maybe a cap is not necessary. The bus Pamplona-Jaca follows more or less the northern route
hitchhiking can also work, since anybody knows there's not much help in this area.

Yesa to Sangüesa via Javier includes some road walking. You should have the map at hand, because signs are few to none in the beginning and they are different (wooden poles with yellow ring for the camino), because the southern camino is still some km away.

Sangüesa to Liedena is mainly on the road, maybe the last km is on a (gravel/dirt) track next to the road. At the entrance you find a hotel and restaurant. Leaving Liedena and all trough the Foz is on a track, than some asphalt (~200m) and dirt path/track till you enter Lumbier. You have a restaurant on the road crossing. next is 1-2km tarmac before you walk on tracks for some km. From Aldunate to Izko you'll hit the old national road or you look for some connecting path to the alternative camino via Rocaforte.
 
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We walked the Southern route in 2018 and found it much safer and enjoyable than the northern route I referenced. As the OP was deciding between the two, I wanted to clearly state that the “old route” is not a good option.

As for the villages, Berdun is still quite active, but it no longer offers pilgrim-specific support facilities. Tiermas looks great online, but it’s underwater except when the embalse is very low which is generally not when pilgrims are walking. The route from Ruesta to Sanguesa actually provided enough shade and water sources that we found it to be quite pleasant.
 
Being the OP, I think that there is some confusion about routes. @Vacajoe, you must have just walked the route on the north of the Embalse Yesa. Nowdays no one suggests that route though it could be an adventure if the water level in the embalse is low. In my original post I was refering to how to go from the Monasterio Leyre to the Foz de Lumbier and on to Lumbier. I have walked down the mountain from the monasterio then along the old highway to Liedena, through the foz to Lumbier. The route that I am suggesting now is to walk straight across the face of the mountain from the Monastery as it descends (supposedly steep in places) to Lumbier. There are a few tracks on Wickiloc showing this in addition to the map here: :https://www.caminosantiago.org/cppe....asp?kCamino=ES01b04c&EtapaId=372&CaminoId=17

One of our forum members very kindly offered to walk this route soon and give me a "boots on the ground" report. For those of us who love the Aragones this might be an extra treat!
 
Yes, I recall that now! Old age is setting in on this pilgrim... 😜. Always good for you to try different routes.
 
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Screenshot_20190721-112411.png
 

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Sparrow in Texas.
Marilyn, if you want, you can post the message I sent you with my impressions.
 
Yes please post all relevant details! I plan to walk the Aragones in Sept/Oct this year or sometimes! Would be perfect to see more, especially from the following quote:
"One of our forum members very kindly offered to walk this route soon and give me a "boots on the ground" report. For those of us who love the Aragones this might be an extra treat! "
Thanks in advance and looking forward to the experience!
 
I don't know if you know the other way. The southern side is not much better regarding shade, stores, toilets etc. There is not much left from Ruesta for the same reason.

It is always more complicated to walk in the opposite direction. If you plan such attempt it's better to google a bit. Just with the word Tiermas you can find many pictures with the ruins of that place. Escó is a bit trickier, but google maps offers a clear hint "Pueblo abandonado / abandoned village" so no surprice to find more ruins ;).
There should be some life in Sigües, Asso and Berdún still (it's 20years that I have been in the last one).
Did you walk that after Artieda?

@Amy
Maybe a cap is not necessary. The bus Pamplona-Jaca follows more or less the northern route
hitchhiking can also work, since anybody knows there's not much help in this area.

Yesa to Sangüesa via Javier includes some road walking. You should have the map at hand, because signs are few to none in the beginning and they are different (wooden poles with yellow ring for the camino), because the southern camino is still some km away.

Sangüesa to Liedena is mainly on the road, maybe the last km is on a (gravel/dirt) track next to the road. At the entrance you find a hotel and restaurant. Leaving Liedena and all trough the Foz is on a track, than some asphalt (~200m) and dirt path/track till you enter Lumbier. You have a restaurant on the road crossing. next is 1-2km tarmac before you walk on tracks for some km. From Aldunate to Izko you'll hit the old national road or you look for some connecting path to the alternative camino via Rocaforte.
Thank you - this bus line looks like a great option and I'm taking notes on all your advice.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
To all, here are Mikel Olivares comments about walking the route from the Monasterio de Leire to Lumbier and then through the foz. This will add a nice diversion with a magnificent view for anyone inclined to try this. I see through his various routes posted on Wickiloc that he not only loves walking but is generous in sharing with all who are interested. Thank you Mikel!

"Yesterday I made the way between the Monastery of Leire and Liédena, passing through the Foz de Lumbier.
The first 6 km are by a paved and gravel road in a soft rise.
The following 2 Km. Are in soft descent, without problems.
It is followed by 2 km of hard downhill, it is a narrow path very stony. But it does not present big problems.
The rest of the way is flat, without problems.
Soon, I want to make a small (yellow) marks that will help pilgrims who want to do so in the future."

Having been to both the Monasterio de Leire (that is where I was given the key to the 1000 year old crypt and told to lock myself in!) and the Foz de Lumbier just last fall I can say without reservation that both are worth the time and effort.
 
To all, here are Mikel Olivares comments about walking the route from the Monasterio de Leire to Lumbier and then through the foz. This will add a nice diversion with a magnificent view for anyone inclined to try this. I see through his various routes posted on Wickiloc that he not only loves walking but is generous in sharing with all who are interested. Thank you Mikel!

"Yesterday I made the way between the Monastery of Leire and Liédena, passing through the Foz de Lumbier.
The first 6 km are by a paved and gravel road in a soft rise.
The following 2 Km. Are in soft descent, without problems.
It is followed by 2 km of hard downhill, it is a narrow path very stony. But it does not present big problems.
The rest of the way is flat, without problems.
Soon, I want to make a small (yellow) marks that will help pilgrims who want to do so in the future."

Having been to both the Monasterio de Leire (that is where I was given the key to the 1000 year old crypt and told to lock myself in!) and the Foz de Lumbier just last fall I can say without reservation that both are worth the time and effort.

So, Sparrow,
How do you cross over to get to Leyre from the Aragonés? Is it marked? Is it a path or asphalt?

I loved the Aragonés when LT and I walked it a few years ago, but we didn't know anything about the Foz de Lumbier, so that is definitely an error we have to fix. I have visited the monastery of Leyre twice, having slept in their hospitalería, and would absolutely LOVE to go back. I cannot believe you slept in that amazing crypt! Though as a place to sleep, I bet it is a lot less amazing than as a place to visit. Vespers in the romanesque church above are an indelible memory for me and my family. I can vividly picture sitting in the church, with its lopsided arches of unequal width and just being transported to some other place. Sorry, I have gone way off-topic here, but any info you have about how to get over to the monastery would be great.
 
When I was planning my route it was quite evident that there was no way to walk and appreciate all the wonderful sights and experiences in just the six days that various guides suggest. Once I got over that block I took 11 days. I walked into Sanguesa from the south end and left from the middle walking to Javier. It seemed like some back tracking, just not on the same path. So my route was Ruesta to Undues, Sanguesa, Javier, Yesa, Leyre, Lumbier. I did not stay in each place, just indicating the route. It was mostly roadside walking with very few cars. I do not recall markings but I did study a map though it was hardly necessary once I started.

Nor did I sleep in the crypt, but a solo visit was moving to say the least, followed by vespers.

Threads that veer off topic, to me show that someone is thinking and often introduce useful ideas!

I am like you in that I have to see and experience things multiple time with variations. I missed el Balcon de los Pirineos though I did see the long valley from the front seat of a sailplane.
 
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Hi all.
I don't know the Camino Aragonés. But seeing the interest generated by this section entering in Navarra, I plan to do it as soon as possible to provide the maximum possible information for pilgrims who want to visit these places so dear to the Navarros.
 
In response to a couple of my questions, Mikel provided some additional information.
If you look at the route by satellite view part way along where the road changes to narrow path you will see a large square thing. It is a water tank that supplies water to a trough for livestock.

The narrower path is rocky, steep and tiring. It should not present problems unless the weather is rainy making the path a danger for slips and falls. Just be careful.
 
I walked the area in 2005 and just looked back at my notes. I overnighted in Artieda, then walked from there to the monastery at Leyre on a path along the reservoir. My notes mention it was a Sunday which was fortunate as the reservoir was under construction. The following day, we walked from the monastery to Sangüesa via Javier. The following day through Foz de Lumbier to Monreal.

Just looked on Via Michelin and they show a possible route along the reservoir. Not sure if it is the same one. 824C03EB-3FBC-4E4C-AB33-C079882A1BF1.png
 
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I am planning to do a coast to coast Camino combination beginning around September 17th in Barcelona on the Cami Romeu to Monserrat, then on the Camino San Jaume to Santa Cecilia (arrival 10/2+/-). Then Camino Aragones to Puente La Reina (arrival 10/7+/-) Camino Frances to Santiago (11/5+/-) and then continue on to Muxia.

Reading the posts, it sounds like the Aragones has changed quite a bit since I walked it in 2005. Thanks everyone for your insights.
 
Sounds an amazing walk. Post occasionally to keep us armchair pilgrims uplifted.
 
A point of trivia...this route, what I am calling the high route from Leyre to Lumbier, and that Mikel Olivares recently walked for us is included on the new edition of the IGN Caminos map!!
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.

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