Completed the Camino de Santiago? Here are some alternative walking routes to try

With a scorching summer predicted in Europe, and heatwaves already hitting Greece and Türkiye, you might be looking ahead to autumn to plan your next hiking adventure.

Thanks to its milder weather, September is among the best months to embark on the Camino de Santiago - one of the most walked routes in the history of humanity. Every year almost 350,000 people complete the pilgrimage which ends at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.

But that also means the route is busy. While it brings the possibility of making friends with other walkers, it leaves little room for self-reflection.

There are a number of other routes across Europe and the rest of the world, however, that offer the Camino experience. They are also perfect if you’ve completed the famous pilgrimage and are looking for more long distance walking routes.

Here are some of the best alternatives to El Camino de Santiago to try this autumn.

If you want to stick to Spain then there are shorter, tougher trips also taken by Christian pilgrims. The Mozarabic Way or Camino Mozárabe is a series of walking routes that start at various locations throughout Andalusia and converge in Mérida near the Portuguese border.

These were the roads used by Christians in the territory of Al Ándalus, so you can learn about the history of Spain as you walk. Some of the oldest stretches follow Roman roads offering another opportunity for historic discovery.

You can depart from Granada or head inland from Malaga and Almeria, with different paths varying in length and difficulty. In total, the routes are around 1,500km in length running all the way up to the Tomb of Saint James in Galicia.

A 1,400km walking route opened in Romania in 2022, crossing from the north to the south of the country