The Camí de Sant Jaume in Catalonia

This branch of the Camí de Sant Jaume starts at the Coll de Panissars, a small ruin at the top of the pass by which the Roman Via Augusta crossed the Pyrenees. The only practical way to reach the Coll is from the French town of Pertús, from which a small road leads southwestwards to the castle of Bellegarde. Bellegarde was, for hundreds of years, a Catalan castle which defended the border with France. But the Treaty of the Pyrenees, which defined the border between France and Spain, assigned the castle to France. The French much enlarged and improved the castle. The first town on the route is La Jonquera, which, at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, was the focus of a mass exodus of defeated Republicans on their way to concentration camps in France before resettling in other countries throughout the world. A museum in the town commemorates this dark period of history.
Route map of this section
The impressive walls of the castle of Bellegarde
	Main square with sundial
Detail of sundial	The bridge of the moat and the main gate
The division of the road from Pertús	View towards the Coll de Panissars
	The Coll de Panissars with its sign for the Via Domitia leading to France and the Via Augusta towards Spain
Unhelpful notice just below the Coll	The first blue Camí Sant Jaume fingerpost, with the blue sign telling you where you are going and the green one signspots for other routes
View showing the commanding position of the castle of Bellegarde	Pleasant downhill walk in shade
Entrance to Manso Pobre with Bellegarde in the distant background	First view of La Jonquera, with autovia and AVE high-speed train line in the foreground
Waymarks painted under the autovia	Entering La Jonquera by the main street
The main street and church	Interior of the church
Main steet decorated with flags all along its length	The Chairman of the Girona friends of the Way of Saint James trying to shift the large rock with a yellow arrow pointing in the wrong direction (probably dislodged by a lorry)
The low tunnel under the autovia	The Way runs alongside the autovia and its service area and toll booths
The even smaller tunnel under the AVE embankment	Another blue marker post when we reach a small country road
and almost at once turn off it between vineyards	Looking back to La Jonquera and Bellegarde
Fontain in the church square in l'Estrada
Mill house by the river crossing	The Way divides from the road to descend through woodland
Rural house	The Way running alongside a small river
Distant view of the castle of Mont Roig	Rural house
Back by the river again
Milestone for an old path	Entering Biure
The ever-flowing fountain in the church square at Biure, much beloved by pigeons	The first few kilometers out of Biure are on a very minor road, and you then turn left at a blue sign onto a rural route
The monastery of Santa Maria del Roure, now being restored by the local council (above) Wayside cross (right)
	The new concrete road down the valley is flaked by a huge wall two metres wide built by the monastery
Looking down on the town of Molins	Approaching Port de Molins

Camí de Sant Jaume
in Catalunya

Stage 1A - Coll de Panissars to Figueres

Camí de Sant Jaume in Catalunya

Stage 1A - Coll de Panissars to Figueres

Camí de Sant Jaume
in Catalunya