This village is pretty simple:

Adobe houses.

An old, old church. 

And, of course, the road that runs by them.

Welcome to Terradillos (tare-ah-DEE-yohs) de los (day lohs) Templarios (tem-plah-REE-os) in Spain. Around 50 people live here. But many more people travel here—along the Camino de Santiago.

In Spanish, Camino de Santiago means the way of St. James. Since medieval times, pilgrims have walked along this 500-mile route. Why? What they believe to be the Apostle James’ tomb lies at the end of it.  

In 2023, nearly half a million people walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Out of every 10 walkers, about four did so for religious reasons. Traditionally, it’s a Catholic pilgrimage. But people today travel the Camino for other reasons like maintaining health, dealing with grief, or just to have an adventure and enjoy the scenery. Some call these folks “tourist-pilgrims.” 

Today’s Camino travelers save little towns like this one from disappearing.

Towns all around the Camino once boomed. Then machines took jobs from farm laborers. Young people moved away. Shops and cafés closed. Grand churches full of priceless artwork did too. 

Starting in the 1990s, the Camino got popular again. Tens of thousands of visitors hiked and biked it each spring, summer, and fall. The traffic dipped again during the coronavirus pandemic. Now it’s back in full force. 

And lots of visitors means lots of business. It means selling coffee and fresh bread and renting rooms for the night. 

Why? People throughout the world take pilgrimages for religious reasons. Christians are on a pilgrimage too—but not to earn favor with God.