From Arles Route to Camino del Norte

If your walk from Arles ends in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, then from there you can take the Voie Nive-Bidassoa:
http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/les-...ie-nive-bidassoa-st-jean-p-port-hendaye-irun/
Use Google translate for the text, but there are also PDF files with maps you can download.
Buen Camino!

The Arles way does not pass at SJPP, but at Somport col

Grigor Fedan said:

Greetings. I'm planning on going from Arles to Santiago, but would like to avoid the Camino Frances. I did Le Puy to Santiago last year and found the Camino Frances too crowded.
That's why I'm taking the Arles route this time, but then, how do I get to the Camino del Norte?
Info would be much appreciated. I can't find a map that shows that.

Click to expand...

@Grigor Fedan
I walked from Oloron Ste Marie through the Somport Pass in the fall of 2016 and passed an entry to the Piemont Route, which runs north of the Pyrenees. Further information may be found on the CSJ site. See the reference below for information on the route from Oloron Ste Marie on the Arles route to Irun on the Norte. https://www.csj.org.uk/planning-you...he-routes-today/the-pyrenean-foothills-route/ .

You can walk along the Pyrenees following the Grand Randonée path GR10 from the villages of Borce and Etsaut (on the Arles route after Oloron St Marie) going north, all the way to the coast at Irun (passing through St Jean P de P on the way). There are plenty of GR10 guide books and websites with information about the route and accommodation along the way. It's a wonderful well marked path but much much more strenuous than the camino. Generally it gets easier as you go north and further away from the central Pyrenees. You'd experience some amazing things including the cirque de Lescun, the lunar landscape of limestone karst beside Pic d'Anie and the Iraty forest (the shepherds often sell the cheese they make up in the hills there and it's rather good).
Alternatively you can go several km past Borce Etsaut to the top of Aspe valley to Somport (and so pass by the ruins of the Santa Cristina hospital). Here you can take the GR11 path on the Spanish side of the border all the way to Roncesvalles and then up to Irun. The Spanish side generally has drier weather but I find the GR11 a tougher (scary) proposition with less infrastructure and less path maintenance, which can mean you need a good sense of direction and a good head for heights..