Alto del Perdón Viewpoint (from the Puente la Reina side)
The ridge of Alto del Perdón, rising to 790 metres just north of Puente la Reina, is crowned by a row of cut-iron pilgrim silhouettes that have become one of the most iconic images of the entire Camino Francés. The climb from the Puente la Reina valley takes about 90 minutes on foot and rewards you with a 360-degree panorama stretching from the Pyrenees to the Ebro plain.
The Iron Pilgrim Monument
The sculptural installation — officially called Monumento al Peregrino, created by sculptor Vicente Galbete in 1996 — shows a procession of medieval and modern pilgrims in silhouette, cast from Corten steel that has weathered to a deep rust-orange.
An inscription on the base reads 'Donde se cruza el camino del viento con el de las estrellas' — where the path of the wind crosses the path of the stars — a line that feels entirely earned when the Navarrese wind is howling across the ridge.
The monument faces west, so afternoon light falls on the figures from behind, creating dramatic backlighting that photographers travel specifically to capture.
The Hike and the View
The trail from Puente la Reina follows the yellow Camino arrows north through wheat and sunflower fields before climbing steeply through scrubby oak and broom; the gradient is honest but the path is well-marked and never technical.
From the top you can pick out the Río Arga valley below, the spires of Pamplona's old city to the northeast on clear days, and the long green corridor of the Camino stretching west toward Estella.
Wind turbines line the ridge on either side of the monument — a jarring modernity that somehow reinforces rather than undermines the monument's meditation on journeys across time.
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