Walking distance between Old and New Monastery San Juan de Pena

[Anniesantiago]

Does anyone know the walking distance between the two Monasteries?
We took a shuttle when we were there and I can't remember how far it was.
Help?

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Can't give you an "X kilometers" answer, Annie, but when I walked from the upper monastery and the overlook down to the lower monastery (in perfect weather) it was fairly brief -- half an hour, tops -- and easy peasy!

Would love to go back, some day!

 

[Karl Oz]

Yes, about 30 minutes.

 

[peregrina2000]

And when you get to the new monastery, keep going a little further to the “Balcón de los Pirineos,” a quite beautiful lookout.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Thanks everyone. I've walked DOWN from the Monastery to the highway but never between the two.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

And when you get to the new monastery, keep going a little further to the “Balcón de los Pirineos,” a quite beautiful lookout.

Absolutely breathtaking!

 

[Karl Oz]

The literally breath-taking part for me was walking up that mountain in the first place...

 

[Anniesantiago]

We walked down from the old monastery. It was gorgeous.

 

[Vacajoe]

It’s just about a kilometer.

 

[jennysa]

I also recommend keeping to the road and not the path which is very stony and slippery. I have been there 3 times and tried all the different routes and road is best

 

[peregrina2000]

I also recommend keeping to the road and not the path which is very stony and slippery. I have been there 3 times and tried all the different routes and road is best

The path down from the old monastery to the village of Santa Cruz de Serós nearly did me in. My knees were in terrible shape for the rest of my Camino. It is a wonder I was able to limp into Santiago. That path is very steep and rocky, IMO much more so than other well-known rocky descents, like the one from Alto del Perdón, or into Zubiri, or from El Acebo.

Just a little tip, though — last year, we had some tremendously steep descents on the Olvidado and my knees started to act up again. My peregrino friend recommended that I start doing quad (?) stretches (grabbing your foot behind you and pulling up gently) and my knee was fine in a few days. I have now incorporated that stretch into my normal workout routine and am hoping I’ll be ready for my next Camino descents.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I also recommend keeping to the road and not the path which is very stony and slippery. I have been there 3 times and tried all the different routes and road is best

Yes, the path down to the village was slippery when we walked also. One time we walked the road and it was a nice walk too.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I also recommend keeping to the road and not the path which is very stony and slippery. I have been there 3 times and tried all the different routes and road is best

Part of the path between the new and old monasteries:

 

[Karl Oz]

When I walked up the mountain I used the road for the first half, more through accident than design. There is a village at about half-way up where water was available. Thereafter I used the track to the top and it was a very trying experience in the Spanish sun. I was absolutely creased by the time I reached the monastaries, so much so that I took the road to descend the whole way down to Santa Cilia. I weighed the possibility of slipping or falling and injuring myself on that seldom-used path and having to spend hours awaiting assistance and decided the road was the only sensible option. Thank goodness for that albergue in Santa Cilia, and the wonderful woman who runs it.

The ironic thing is, having said after the trip that I had no further interest in the Aragones, I now want to return and walk it again! This time with a tad more water on certain stretches, and maybe not in summer!

 

[Karl Oz]

Part of the path between the new and old monasteries:
View attachment 67838

Remember this well; at least it was downhill!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

The ironic thing is, having said after the trip that I had no further interest in the Aragones, I now want to return and walk it again! This time with a tad more water on certain stretches, and maybe not in summer!

Plenty of rain this November.

Remember this well; at least it was downhill!

I was concerned about the climb and descent there because of what forum members have written about it but it was much better than I expected. Now someone has to find something worse than New Hampshire's White Mountains.