The most famous pilgrimage route in Europe is closed. The reason for the fire

After a few weeks of fighting, Spain still struggles with powerful fires. On Monday, flames began to head towards one of the most visited pilgrimage centers in the world by tourists. I am talking about Santiago de Compostela, which is behind the Picos de Europa mountains, where the spreading fire was quickly noticed. Due to the unflagging threat, it was decided to close the part of the Camino de Santiago trail. Pilgrims were also appealed to abstain from pilgrimages in the following days.

Camino de Santiago trail threatened

It became inevitable – in fear of losing the health and life of people, selected episodes of Camino de Santiago were closed and it was appealed to the pilgrimage participants, so that they would abstain from pedestrians in the near future. The Saint James trail is one of the oldest and most famous pilgrimage routes consisting of a network of trails, leading, among others through France, Spain and Portugal to the town of Santiago de Compostela. The northern sections of the trail from Astorga through Ponferrada and Bembibre to Villafranca del Bierzo are particularly affected. “This is a fire that we haven’t experienced for 20 years,” says the Minister of Defense of Spain Margarita Robles in an interview with Cadena Ser. Unfortunately, the temperatures will continue to persist at a high level, so the situation may not improve quickly.

A warning for tourists

Transition of the trail of St. Jakub are long days, and even weeks of hiking and related sacrifices for many tourists. Some of the wanderers during the pilgrimage decide, for example, not using the phone. In many places where the route runs, the internet is simply weak or completely unavailable. The authorities pay attention to this and ask to try to contact our loved ones on the trail by phone who do not have access to the latest information.