Camino de Santiago de Compostela:A Modern Pilgrimage

The need to go on pilgrimages has always been a human characteristic. People have long trodden paths to destinations that promised miracles or penance, or to atone for sins. And even in this rational age, people are drawn on spiritual quests to the sacred sites of the world. In the Christian world, few sacred sites are more famous that Santiago de Compostela in Galacia, northern Spain. Pilgrims have walked this route for more than 1000 years. And nowadays, over 100000 pilgrims annually make the journey that ends at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. What draws them there?

One of the oldest extant pilgrim routes is the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, or The Way of St James in English. This way is in fact made up of a collection of old pilgrimage routes which lead to Santiago de Compostela in Galacia in north west Spain. Here a cathedral has stood since the 9th century.

According to legend, the appearance of the remains of the Apostle Saint James led to the construction of Santiago de Compostela in the ninth century. It soon became a pilgrimage destination on a par with Jerusalem and Rome.

Of all the many paths that lead to Santiago de Compostela, the most popular is known as the French Way. This is a 750 kilometer route that begins in France and crosses the Pyren