Via Podiensis:
Self-Guided Tour 2
Conques ⇒ Moissac
On this journey you will hike through the beautiful Lot Valley and its numerous idyllic villages, former knight’s castles, and romantic churches. You will also pass the plateau of the Causses that essentially consists of Jurassic limestone, repeatedly intersected by river valleys that have carved themselves deeply into the stone.
Tour Type: Self-Guided
Availability: April through October
Duration: 12 Days Total / 10 Days Walking
Total Distance: 207 km. (129 mi.)
Difficulty: easy/moderate
Average distance: 20.7 km. (12.9 mi.) / Day
Prices (per person):
Double Room:
Starting from € 860
Single-Occupancy Room:
Starting from € 1.340
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
Your journey first begins in Conques and its famous abbey. From here, you will hike through the beautiful Lot Valley and its numerous idyllic villages, former knight’s castles, and romantic churches.
With its Benedictine abbey from the ninth century and the medieval old town, you will spend the night in nice Figeac, which holds the title “City of Art and History”.
Read More about this tour ⇒
Past Figeac begins the plateau of the Causses that essentially consists of Jurassic limestone, repeatedly intersected by river valleys that have carved themselves deeply into the stone. The vegetation is mainly characterized by junipers, oaks, brooms, and Cupid’s darts. Shade is rare in this region.
The Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago) continues for about 130 kilometers/81 miles through this sparsely populated landscape that, also knows how to impress. For pilgrims, having enough drinking water here is absolutely essential.
Soon you arrive in Cajarc on the banks of the Lot, the center of saffron cultivation in France.
In Cahors, you will once again reach a meander of the Lot Valley. The city itself resembles a natural fortification, as almost three quarters are surrounded by the Lot. The town’s landmark, the Pont Valentré Bridge, is also impressive, used by pilgrims since the fifteenth century to cross the Lot.
Another significant stop on your pilgrimage is Moissac, whose abbey has a beautiful and completely preserved cloister with 116 pillars. Between Cahors and Moissac, the limestone plateau is also used agriculturally for cereals, corn, melons, et cetera.
Impressions from the Camino
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Conques
Independent arrival in Conques, 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 Conques
Independent arrival in Conques, 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: Conques – Livinhac-le-Haut • 24 km. (15 mi.)
After Conques, we start ascending. Through chestnut forests, you will reach the green hilly landscape of Rouergue until Livinhac-le-Haut, where, shortly before, you meet the Lot.
Distance: 24 km. (15 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 3: Livinhac-le-Haut – Figeac • 25 km. (16 mi.)
Along tracks, the Camino continues to Figeac, passing pastures and fields, and through small hamlets via Montredon and Felzins. The town’s most famous son is Jean-François Champollion, who was the first European to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Distance: 25 km. (16 mi.) | Difficulty:Moderate
Day 4: Figeac – Le Puy Clavel (Gréalou) • 20 km. (12 mi.)
Past Figeac, the Camino leads up to the Causses, which, with its austere beauty and sparse population, is one of the most impressive landscapes in France. Passing prehistoric dolmens, the Camino continues to Le Puy Clavel just before Gréalou.
Distance: 20 km. (12 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy
Day 5: Le Puy Clavel (Gréalou) – Cajarc • 11 km. (7 mi.)
Your destination today on this short stage is Cajarc, the center of saffron cultivation in France.
Distance: 11 km. (7 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy
Day 6: Cajarc – Limogne-en-Quercy • 17 km. (11 mi.)
You will leave the fertile Lot Valley again in order to ascend the rocky Chausses afterward. Passing low oak forests, junipers, and boxwood bushes, you will reach Limogne-en-Quercy.
Distance: 17 km. (11 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy
Day 7: Limogne-en-Quercy – Mas de Vers • 22 km. (14 mi.)
You will first continue through the sparsely populated limestone plateau to the small village of Varaire, where time seems to have stopped. You will reach Mas de Vers, where you spend the night.
Distance: 22 km. (14 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy
Day 8: Mas de Vers – Cahors • 17 km. (11 mi.)
The barrenness and solitude of the road accompany pilgrims until just before Cahors. Starting from the plateau, with a beautiful view of the stage destination, the Camino descends to the city that nestles in a meander of the Lot.
Distance: 17 km. (11 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy
Day 9: Cahors – Lascabanes • 23 km. (14 mi.)
On your way through the limestone plateau of Quercy Blanc, you will reach Lascabanes and pass fields of cereals, sunflowers, corn, or melons.
Distance: 23 km. (14 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 10: Lascabanes – Lauzerte • 23 km. (14 mi.)
Through small river valleys and over gently rolling hills used for growing fruits and vegetables, the Camino continues today to Lauzerte.
Distance: 23 km. (14 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 11: Lauzerte – Moissac • 25 km. (16 mi.)
Through the hilly landscape of the Tarn and the Garonne, you will reach Moissac. Next to Conques, it is the most important stop on the Via Podiensis from a historical and cultural point of view.
Distance: 25 km. (16 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate
Day 12: Depature from Moissac
Farewell, Moissac; 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 Part 3 of the Via Podiensis, from Moissac to Barcelonne-du-Gers/Aire-sur-l’Adour.
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Tour Combination Options
Our Via Podiensis: Self-Guided Tour 2 can be easily combined with:
Via Podiensis:
Self-Guided Tour 1
Le Puy-en-Velay ⇒ Conques
Starting from € 1.240
Duration: 12 Days Total / 10 Days Walking
Distance: 199.5 km. (123 mi.)
Difficulty: moderate
Via Podiensis:
Self-Guided Tour 3
Moissac ⇒ Barcelonne-du-Gers/Aire-sur-l’Adour