Roncesvalles: The Pass, the Song and the Camino
Navarre, Spain
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300
XP
+100 Spain
= 400 total
1 day
Roncesvalles: The Pass, the Song and the Camino
300 + 100 XP
In 778 the rearguard of Charlemagne's army was destroyed in a pass in these mountains. Three centuries later that ambush had become the Chanson de Roland, the founding poem of French literature, with the Basques who actually did it rewritten as Saracens. Roncesvalles is also where the Camino Francés enters Spain: pilgrims cross from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port over the Ibañeta pass at 1,066 metres, a natural crossing used since prehistory, and the collegiate church here is the first stop. The pilgrim hostel has been operating in some form for the better part of a thousand years.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Walk up to the Ibañeta pass at 1,066 metres, a crossing into Iberia used since prehistory and still the Camino's way in
2
of 5
Work out what happened in 778, and how it turned into the Chanson de Roland three hundred years later
3
of 5
Find out who actually destroyed the rearguard, and who the poem says did it
4
of 5
Go into the collegiate church of Santa María and the chapel of Sanctiu Spiritus beside it
5
of 5
Watch the pilgrims arrive at the end of the first Spanish stage, which is the hardest one on the whole Camino Francés
Walk up to the Ibañeta pass at 1,066 metres, a crossing into Iberia used since prehistory and still the Camino's way in
Work out what happened in 778, and how it turned into the Chanson de Roland three hundred years later
Find out who actually destroyed the rearguard, and who the poem says did it
Go into the collegiate church of Santa María and the chapel of Sanctiu Spiritus beside it
Watch the pilgrims arrive at the end of the first Spanish stage, which is the hardest one on the whole Camino Francés
Before you go
The Napoleon route over the pass from France is closed in winter and people die on it every few years in bad weather. Check conditions before crossing.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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