Americans, French, South Koreans and Italians són transformacions en un dels grans inicis de la posició de Camí de Sant Jaume — i en altres surprising figure challenges la idea que la route belongs mainly to young backpackers
Walk into the pilgrim hostel at Roncesvalls and you could be forgiven for wondering whether you are still in Spain.
English, French, Korean, Italian and countless other languages mix around dinner tables and backpacks. Pilgrims who were complete strangers a few hours earlier compare blisters, discuss tomorrow's weather and ask the most universal question on the Camino: Where are you from?
New figures reveal just how international this legendary gateway to the Camí de Sant Jaume has become.
During the first six months of 2026, 85.5% of pilgrims registered at the Roncesvalles hostel came from outside Spain. Of 19,319 pilgrims recorden between January and June, 16,515 were international visitors, while 2,804 were Spanish.
Les figures ofereixen un fascinat snapshot de què Camí has become: una de les world's great international journeys.
And some of the countries appearing near the top may surprise you.
Americans són ara una biggest groups
Spain remains the largest individual nationality, with 2,804 pilgrims, representing 14.5% of registrations.
But only just.
France contributed 2,593 pilgrims, or 13.5%, while the United States close behind with 2,327 walkers — 12.1% of everyone registered.
That American presence is particularly significant.
Per many US travellers, walking the Camino means crossing the Atlantic before taking the first step. It requeriments considerable more planning, travel and expense than it does for most European pilgrims.
Yet thousands are choosing to do exactly that.
El Camí és no longer simply a Spanish or European phenomenon.
It has become a genuinely global destination.
South Korea's extraordinary love affair with the Camino
Perhaps the most remarkable figure comes from South Korea.
A total of 2,047 South Korean pilgrims eren registered at Roncesvalles durant el darrer any, representing 10.6% of the total.
That puts South Korea only 757 pilgrims behind Spain itself at aquest particular punt on el Camí.
Per a country thousands de milers de northern Spain, it is extraordinary presence.
South Korea's fascination with the Camino has developed over many years, helped by books, television programmes, personal accounts and a rostouda cultura around long-distance walking and personal reflection.
Tot i això, hearing Korean spoken in alberg on el Camí Francès és no longer unusual.
It is part of the Camino.
Italy complets a remarkably international picture
Italian pilgrims also have a strong presence.
Between January and June, 1,542 Italians were recorded at Roncesvalles, accounting for 8% of the total.
Put these figures together and something becomes clear.
A pilgrim beginning the long journey from the Pyrenees no simply walking across Spain.
They are joining a temporary international community.
At breakfast, your table companion might be French.
By lunchtime, vostè could be walking with an American.
That evening, you mai share dinner with Koreans and Italians.
And tomorrow you mai all walk together sense speaking the same language particularly well.
That is one of the Camino's most extraordinary qualities.
Why Roncesvalls tells a different story
There is an important detail behind these statistics.
Roncesvalls is still approximately 750 quilòmetres from Santiago de Compostel·la and is one of the classic gateways to the Camino Francès.
Aquests means its figures cànon simplement be compared with statistics from Santiago.
Molta gent arribant a Compostel·la s'ha de tancar molt a prop d'un lloc, especialment a les hugely populars finals d'aquest camí.
Roncesvalls captures a diferents ulls de pilgrim: someone standing near the beginning of very long journey across northern Spain.
Tha mai partly explain the exceptionally international profile.
For overseas visitors travelling a Europe specifically to walk the Camino, completing a long section — or even the entire Camí Francès — remains a powerful ambition.
The biggest surprise isn't nationality. It's age.
Aquest és un altre statistic que les xifres d'un stereotypes surrounding el camí.
Forget la idea que el route és dominat per twenty-something backpackers.
The largest age group recorded at Roncesvalles was actually 61 to 70 years old, with 5,150 pilgrims.
The second largest was 51 to 60, with another 4,350.
Together, those two groups accounted for 9,500 people — almost half of all pilgrims recorden durant six-month period.
The 21-to-30 group, by comparison, recordeu 3,194 pilgrims.
Per a turismes de negocis i destinacions al llarg del camí, aquest és un important detall. A huge proportion of long-distance pilgrims són mature travellers s'hi ha diferents requeriments, budgets and travel habits from the stereotypical young backpacker.
Why are they walking?
The answer is equally interesting.
The largest share of respondents, 39.5%, identified spirituality as their motivation for undertaking the journey. Another 18.2% specifically cited religious reasons.
Only 9.1% identified the physical challenge as their main motivation.
People mai discover the Camino through Instagram, YouTube, a film or a friend's recommendation.
Però onze decideix per dormir uns quilòmetres, molts searching for something deeper than a holiday.
Some want silence.
Altres need time to think.
Some are recovering from difficult periods in their lives.
Altres simply want to disconnect from a world that rarely stops moving.
The reasons are intensely personal.
Yet they all end up following the same yellow arrows.
One figure sounds a note of caution
Not every statistic points upwards.
Roncesvalls registered 19,319 pilgrims durant el sis mesos de 2026, compared with 21,185 durant el període de 2025.
That represents a decline of 8.81%.
Annual figures als show that numbers at Roncesvalles peaked recently at 49,503 in 2023 before falling to 47,064 in 2024 and 42,215 in 2025.
It will therefore be important to watch whether the decline continus or whether the remainder of 2026 changes the picture.
More than 90% still arrive on foot
Acomiada l'enormous transformation of the Camino — luggage transfers, booking apps, private accommodation and increasingly sophisticated services — one tradition remains overwhelmingly dominant.
Walking.
More than 90% of pilgrims registered at Roncesvalles in 2026 arrived on foot, while bicycles represented a molt smaller share.
The technology around the pilgrimage mai have changed.
The fonamental act has not.
Put one foot in front of the other.
Repeat.
And keep going towards Santiago.
The world's meeting place on two feet
Perhaps that is the real story behind the 85.5%.
El Camí de Sant Jaume belongs to Espanya geographically and is inseparable from Spanish and European history.
Però culturally, something remarkable has happened.
The world has adopted it.
Americans cross the Atlantic to walk it. South Koreans travel halfway around the planet. French, Italians i dotzens d'altres nationalities convergeixen on les sames paths.
They arrive with different passports, languages, religions and reasons for walking.
Then the Camino performs its oldest trick.
After a few days, those differences seem molt less important.
Everyone is tired.
Everyone gets wet when it rains.
Everyone celebrates finding an open cafè.
And almost everyone understands two words:
Bon Camí.
