Why you’re never too old for a Spanish walking holiday

There is something unexpectedly addictive about hiking in Spain. Early in my career as a travel journalist I based myself there briefly – and ended up staying 16 years, with the opportunity to hike all over the country and write books on the subject. Along the way I’ve learned that the real beauty and soul of Spain is best enjoyed at a speed of two to three miles an hour.

The wonderful sights, such like the iconic pueblos blancos (white villages), clustered like fortresses across hilltops fringed with olive trees in Andalucia, can be fully appreciated when the mind is not frazzled and the legs turned to jelly by strenuous days on the trail. Saga offers several tours that allow walkers a chance to enjoy Andalucia without challenging their comfort zones. The weeklong Walks of Andalucia holiday takes in some of the loveliest sights along the evocatively named Costa Tropical and the Alpujarras, including five gentle guided walks. The Walking in Huelva holiday benefits from the cooling influence of the Atlantic coast and includes five blissful walks in iconic wilderness areas such as Río Piedras Nature Reserve, Sierra de Aracena and UNESCO-protected Coto Doñana National Park.

Donana National Park

The walks, designed to appeal to hikers with a good level of fitness, follow well maintained country trails, Roman causeways and Moorish trade routes. Moorish and Modern Gardens of Spain, meanwhile, offers a chance to experience the historic appeal of the region in the nearby cities of Granada and Málaga – this is a garden tour rather than a hiking tour, but a great opportunity to explore on foot.

Wherever you walk in Spain you only need to scratch the surface for Iberia’s rich, and frequently warlike, history to seep through. During one of my solo hikes, I laid my groundsheet in the shadow of ruined Knights Templar fortresses and strung my hammock among olive trees in what had been a Roman garrison 2,000 years ago.

It would surprise many people to realise that, with an average altitude of 600m above sea level, Spain is Europe’s second-highest country (surpassed only by Switzerland). Regardless of whether you’re on the relatively unpopulated high Meseta or the most developed parts of the Mediterranean coast, you’re never far from historical riches. Saga’s Walking in Costa Blanca and Walking in Calpe holidays might pass through one of Spain’s most famous tourist regions but they nevertheless feature 11th -century castles, ancient monasteries and medieval windmills.

The 476-mile Camino de Santiago is world-famous as Spain’s most historic long-distance trail. According to the Catholic Church you must complete a minimum of 100km (62 miles) to qualify for the Compostela certificate. The final section of the route (starting in the city of Sarria) attracts many thousands of walkers. My wife Narina and I have walked that route in late October and, far from suffering from crowded trails, I found the chestnut-forested Galician hills to be some of the most beautiful that I’ve seen anywhere in Spain. Saga’s Walking the Santiago Trail – certainly the most challenging tour – is an expertly guided weeklong hike through the evocative and historical 70 miles (113km) that lie between Sarria and Santiago de Compostela.

Camino de Santiago

Walking trips through Spain are about much more than simply walking. Just as the forest trails, cobbled alleys and Roman roads seem to echo with the shuffle of pilgrims’ staffs and Roman sandals, the air is often heavy with the scent of the country produce that makes Spain uniquely irresistible as a hiker’s paradise.

Don Quixote’s sidekick Sancho Panza quipped that 'hunger is the best sauce in the world'. I’ve always revelled in Spain’s hearty rural cuisine – from the famously generous tapas bars of Granada to the great asadores (roasting houses) of Castille. As the perpetually hungry Sancho knew so well, you only truly appreciate those rare finds when you’ve put a few miles under your belt.

In researching my book Vagabond I’d made a habit of hunting down appealing (and sometimes downright bizarre) local delicacies. While I discovered a few real gems I could also entirely understand why pig-ear nuggets, stewed cock’s combs and cabrito en sangre (literally goat in blood) never found space in Rick Stein’s cookery books. Saga offers several holidays that concentrate on cuisine – invariably of a much more appealing nature – from a journey through the heartland of Iberian ham in the Food and wine in Huelva holiday to the gastronomic delights of ‘green Spain’ in the Food and wine in Cantabria holiday.

The 760-mile coast-to-coast hike I described in Vagabond was a life-changing experience. Later I calculated that the total elevation gain (15,300 metres) was equivalent to four ascents from Everest Base Camp to the summit. I made the mistake of pushing my body to the point where ibuprofen was taking the place of trail-mix but the experience taught me something infinitely more valuable than just the knowledge of where my breaking point lay. It taught me that walking holidays are not just for the young. As long as we resist the temptation to overdo it, hiking holidays can become one of the healthiest addictions we can take into our old age.

Spanish walking holidays, in particular, are for the curious and the hungry (not just for great food but for experiences). They’re for optimists who believe that the world’s best home-made tortilla might just be found in the next village and for those with the wisdom to realise that a slow stroll to a sun-dappled terrace and a glass of good vino is as noble a goal as any.

Age isn’t a barrier – it’s the justification for longer lunch breaks.

Mark Eveleigh’s latest travel book – Vagabond: A Hiker’s Homage to Rural Spain (Summersdale, 2024) – was listed among National Geographic’s top six travel books of the year.