Via Podiensis:
Self-Guided Tour 1
Le Puy-en-Velay ⇒ Conques
Some highlights of this tour are the old town of Le Puy, with its beautiful Romanesque cathedral, the impressive nature of the volcanic Velay and Aubrac, with its almost uninhabited natural landscape. You will pass many lovely villages and towns, such as Estaing and Conques, widely known for its impressive abbey.
Tour Type: Self-Guided
Availability: April through October
Duration: 12 Days Total / 10 Days Walking
Total Distance: 199.5 km. (123 mi.)
Difficulty: moderate
Average distance: 20 km. (12.3 mi.) / Day
Prices (per person):
Double Room:
Starting from € 1.240
Single-Occupancy Room:
Starting from € 1.620
What’s Included:
11 nights in single / double room
En-suite facilities
Halfboard (subject to availability)
English-speaking emergency assistance
Your full digital Travel Info Package
Details ⇒
We are proud to be working together with hand-picked, high quality and mostly locally owned and operated service providers.
On the Via Podiensis, especially in the small towns, it is difficult to find places to eat by yourself if it is not booked in advance. For this reason, on the Via Podiensis we offer accommodation only in combination with the booking of half board.
Your journey will be booked through, and your Travel Package will include all the information you will need to access your lodging locations and to process your check-in.
Optional Add-ons:
Luggage transfer on walking days
Lodging for additional night(s) stays
Airport transfers (by taxi)
Details ⇒
If you wish to walk your Camino Stages with a light backpack, carrying only the basic necessities, we will be happy to arrange for your luggage to be forwarded from one hotel to the next on your walking days.
Spending an extra night in a given town throughout your journey is often a good idea: you give your body a rest, relax and enjoy exploring the town. In Santiago, two nights are included in most of our Tours by default as we believe it’s the least a Pilgrim would need to enjoy the City; however, you have the option to opt out of it.
We will be happy to arrange for an airport shuttle transfer for you from your airport of arrival to the starting point of your journey. The same goes for the departure, unless you end your journey in Santiago and fly out of Santiago Airport. In that case, a taxi can be easily arranged for the time of your choice directly at the Reception Desk at your Hotel.
What’s not Included:
Flights
Travel Insurance
Tour guide
Additional meals
Details ⇒
We do not book flights, nor organize any rail or commercial bus-line travel. However, if you need assistance in deciding how to get to and back from your Camino Tour, we will be happy to assist you with tips and ideas!
We strongly recommend to all our travelers to get a Travel Insurance; however, we do not sell any such policies. For our international clients, it is best to get a policy in their country of residence, as some countries offer insurances only to their own residents.
This is a date-flexible tour; therefore, it is self-guided – no Tour Guide will be accompanying you. If you are interested in joining a Group Tour with a Tour Guide, please check our Guided Tours page. (Note: our Guided Tours take place on set dates that are planned ahead.)
Highlights
Since the Middle Ages, the Via Podiensis has been a popular feeder route for the Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago) leading to Santiago de Compostela. Back then, pilgrims would cross large parts of Europe on foot and meet in Le Puy, an important meeting point. Once there, they would team up and continue in groups until they would reach Santiago.
You will immediately start your journey with a cultural-historical highlight: The old town of Le Puy, with its beautiful Romanesque cathedral, and the gigantic basalt pillars of Rocher Corneille on which the statue of the Virgin Mary and the chapel of Saint Michel are located.
Read More about this tour ⇒
Afterward, on this part of the Camino across France, pilgrims can expect impressive nature and many lovely villages and towns. Through the volcanic Velay, with the imposing gorge of the Allier River, you will reach the Margeride and its impressive granite blocks.
This pilgrimage then takes you to Aubrac, which, with its almost uninhabited natural landscape, is considered one of the most beautiful stages of the Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago).
Beyond Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac begins the Lot Valley, perhaps one of the most diverse and delightful river courses in Southern France.
Passing picturesque villages such as Saint-Côme-d’Olt and Estaing, you will finally reach Conques and its widely known abbey; an impressive building of Romanesque art that houses some of the most beautiful artwork of the Middle Ages, with its stone sculptures and the tympanum above the entrance portal. Do not miss the chance to visit it.
Impressions from the Camino
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Le Puy-en-Velay
Independent arrival in Le Puy-en-Velay, located in France, where your pilgrimage on the Via Podiensis on the French Way begins. Proceed to your room and prepare mind and body for the Camino.
Day 1: Arrival in Le Puy-en-Velay
Independent arrival in Le Puy-en-Velay, located in France, where your pilgrimage on the Via Podiensis on the French Way begins. Proceed to your room and prepare mind and body for the Camino.
Day 2: Le Puy-en-Velay – Saint-Privat-d’Allier • 23.5 km. (14.6 mi.)
The pilgrimage tour begins today on the Camino from Le Puy to Saint-Privat-d’Allier. The Camino takes you along roads, tracks, and hiking trails with medium and sometimes steeper ascents and descents.
Distance: 23.5 km. (14.6 mi.) | Difficulty: challenging
Day 3: Saint-Privat-d’Allier – Saugues • 19 km. (12 mi.)
From Saint-Privat, we descend to Monistrol-d’Allier, situated on the banks of the Allier which we will cross. From there, the Camino takes us up again to the plateau of the Margeride.
Distance: 19 km. (12 mi.) | Difficulty: Challenging
Day 4: Saugues – Les Faux • 28 km. (17.4 mi.)
Through the Margeride and its impressive granite blocks, over cow pastures and through small forests, you will first go to Le Sauvage. You will then cross the Margeride Pass (second highest point of the Via Podiensis after the Pyrenees) and continue past the Roch Fountain to the Chapelle de Saint-Roch. We spend the night in Les Faux.
Distance: 28 km. (17.4 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 5: Les Faux – Aumont-Aubrac • 20 km. (12.4 mi.)
On this day, you will leave the Margeride and enter, almost without noticing, the mountainous region of the Aubrac. The day’s destination, Aumont-Aubrac, is also referred to as the “Gate of Aubrac”.
Distance: 20 km. (12.4 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 6: Aumont-Aubrac – Montgros • 24 km. (15 mi.)
On the plateau of Aubrac, you will constantly encounter herds of the famous Aubrac cattle. You will reach Montgros.
Distance: 24 km. (15 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy
Day 7: Montgros – Nasbinals – Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac • 20 km. (12 mi.)
We initially continue through Aubrac toward Nasbinals and its Romanesque church of Notre-Dame, a real gem on the French Way. Your destination is Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac.
Distance: 20 km. (12 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy
Day 8: Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac – Saint -Côme-d´Olt • 16 km. (10 mi.)
The Camino leaves here Aubrac and enters the Lot Valley, one of the major rivers that flow through the Massif Central.
Distance: 16 km. (10 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 9: Saint-Côme-d’Olt – Estaing • 18 km. (11 mi.)
You walk via Espalion, also called “The First Smile of the South.” You spend the night in Estaing and its Gothic bridge. It is also the home of the d’Estaing family, whose most famous son, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, was former president of France.
Distance: 18 km. (11 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 10: Estaing – Golinhac • 15 km. (9 mi.)
The Lot Valley shows once again its most beautiful side: small villages, views of the valley, plateaus, light and shadowy deciduous forests are waiting for you.
Distance: 15 km. (9 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 11: Golinhac – Conques • 21 km. (13 mi.)
Over tracks and forest paths, and a short mountainous stage, we reach a highlight of the Via Podensis: Conques and its wonderful Romanesque monastery church.
Distance: 21 km. (13 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 12: Depature from Conques
Farewell, Conques; farewell, Camino – and safe travels on your journey back home or to your next adventure! Or, here is another option well-worth considering: to continue onto our next Part 2 of the Via Podiensis, from Conques to Moissac.
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Tour Combination Options
Our Via Podiensis: Self-Guided Tour 1 can be easily combined with:
Via Podiensis:
Self-Guided Tour 2
Conques ⇒ Moissac