The Pilgrimage expert – Hungarian edition – VIDEO

The Camino de Santiago, or very often simply called “el Camino”, is probably the world’s most well-known network of pilgrimages leaving from France and arriving in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

It comprises several shorter and longer pilgrimage routes all leading to the same Spanish city. Despite de average length of 700 kilometres, it is said to be a wonderful and very rewarding experience where you disconnect from the world and reconnect with nature and other travellers, thus finding something inside yourself that has been hidden all this time. But what if 700 kilometres just sound way too exhausting and France and Spain are too far away? Well, you can start with the Hungarian “Camino” aka the Hungarian Pilgrimage.

I bet you had no idea you could travel across Hungary on foot and discover all the beauty this little country has to offer.

The Hungarian edition is a significantly shorter journey of 431 kilometres.

Still sounds too much? Let me convince you why the Hungarian Pilgrimage is the perfect plan for this summer, even with Covid-19 lurking in the shadows.

For a start, as I already said, the distance is almost half of its more famous friend’s. The Hungarian route also follows the same direction, from North to South. It starts in the city of Esztergom on the Northern border, just a step away from Slovakia, and leads through the country until it almost reaches the Southern border, a bit more than one step away from Croatia, in Máriagyűd.

Normally, this distance is absolutely doable in around 14-16 days if you walk about 25-30 kilometres a day. If you are not at your fittest you have ever been, of course, it sounds crazy, but let’s see the bright sides (yes, it has more than one). First of all, all pilgrimages require a certain period of preparation, so under no circumstances do I advise you to start this journey without at least some consecutive hiking days, at least 20 kilometres a day. Or, you can start by discovering the National Blue trail, which was named one of the 25 most recommended travel destinations of last year.

Second of all, no one is forcing you to conclude this quest in 16 days if you do not want to.