2026-10-28
Napoléon Route closes for winter on 1 November
Starting the Camino Francés this winter? Your first day is already decided for you. From Sunday 1 November 2026 until 31 March 2027, the Gobierno de Navarra closes the eastern variant of the first stage, the high Napoléon Route that climbs past Orisson to the Lepoeder pass at 1,432 metres.
The details:
- Valcarlos is mandatory, not a suggestion. The only authorised route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles in this period is the western variant, through Luzaide/Valcarlos and up over the Ibañeta pass. The Policía Foral enforces the closure.
- It is about the weather and the climbing. The stage gains more than 1,200 metres from Saint-Jean, at 154 metres, and the high section is the part of the Camino most exposed to fog and snow. Navarra has closed it every winter since 2015, after years of rescues of pilgrims caught out by the conditions and the effort.
- There is no bed on the high route anyway. Refuge Orisson, the one stop on the Napoléon Route, shuts for the season in mid October.
What to do:
- Plan the Valcarlos day as a full stage: roughly 24 km to Roncesvalles, mostly valley walking with a long climb saved for the end.
- Book your bed in Roncesvalles ahead. Winter capacity is limited and everyone arrives by the same single route.
- Set out early. By November the light is short, and this is not a stage to finish in the dark.
The high route reopens on 1 April 2027, weather permitting. Our Francés guide covers both variants of the stage.
Source: Gobierno de Navarra.