Pilgrims’ favourite Camino routes in 2019
There are many Camino de Santiago routes, all taking pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, but which one should you take? and where should you start? Each year, the Pilgrims Office in Santiago de Compostela, records the number of Compostela certificates issued to pilgrims after completing their unique journey. This gives us a great insight into the pilgrims’ favourite Camino routes and here are the latest numbers!
In 2019, a record number of 347.578 pilgrims from 190 different countries received their Compostela certificate and these are their favourite Camino routes:
The pilgrims favourite Camino routes
Camino Francés – 189.937 (54.65%)
Camino Portugués – 72.357 (20.82%)
Coastal Camino Portugués – 22.292 (6.41%)
Camino del Norte – 19.019 (5.47%)
Camino Inglés – 15.780 (4.54%)
Camino Primitivo – 15.715 (4.52%)
Vía de la Plata – 9.201 (2.65%)
Fisterra-Muxía – 1.548 (0.45%)
Camino de Invierno – 1.035 (0.3%)
Favourite Camino starting points
These are the top starting points for Camino pilgrims, with Sarria still the favourite, followed by Porto (with 27.924 starting their Camino Portugues in this city and an additional 11.421 starting their Camino Portugues Coastal route also there).
Sarria – 96.124 (27.66%)
St Jean Pied de Port – 33.197 (9.55%)
Porto – 27.924 (8.03%)
Tui – 22.814 (6.56%)
Ferrol – 15.097 (4.34%)
Porto (Coastal) – 11.421 (3.29%)
León – 10.505 (3.02%)
Valenca do Minho -10.490 (3.02%)
Oviedo – Camino Primitivo – 9.531 (2.74%)
O Cebreiro – 8.367 (2.41%)
Ponferrada – 6.804 (1.96%)
Where do Camino pilgrims come from?
Pilgrims from 190 different nationalities ‘did’ the Camino in 2019 but these are the top 10 nationalities
Spain – 146.350 (42.11%)
Italy – 28.749 (8.27)
Germany – 26.167 (7.53)
United States – 20.652 (5.92)
Portugal – 17.450 (5.02%)
France – 9.248 (2.66%)
United Kingdom – 9.132 (2.63%)
Korea – 8.224 (2.37%)
Ireland – 6.826 (1.96%)
Brazil – 6.025 (1.73%)
Australia – 5.301 (1.53%)
Most pilgrims chose to experience the Camino on foot 94.16% (327.281 people), while 5.63% (19.563) chose to cycle, 0.12% (406) on horseback, 243 by boat (0.07%) and 85 (0.02%) on wheelchair.
For more information about pilgrims favourite Camino routes or to book your trip, contact our travel experts
