Do You Need an App to Walk the Le Puy Route?
- Camino Way of Life
- Jun 26
- 6 min read
Can you walk the Via Podiensis (GR65) without a GPS app? After more than a decade of walking the route, updating our guidebook, and helping thousands of English-speaking pilgrims prepare for their journey, here's why we believe most people don't need one—and why looking up may be one of the greatest gifts of the pilgrimage.
Quick Answer
No—most pilgrims do not need a navigation app to walk the Le Puy Route (Via Podiensis / GR65).
The route follows France's famous GR65, one of the country's best-marked long-distance hiking trails. The distinctive red-and-white waymarks guide pilgrims through villages, forests and open countryside for almost the entire journey.
A smartphone can be useful as a backup for temporary diversions, emergencies or contacting accommodation, but most pilgrims can walk the route confidently without constantly relying on GPS.
In fact, many discover that putting the phone away is one of the unexpected gifts of pilgrimage.
The Question Almost Every Pilgrim Asks
Every year, aspiring pilgrims ask us the same question:
"What app should I use on the Le Puy Route?"
The question is understandable.
We live in a world where our phones guide us everywhere. We use navigation apps to drive across town, find restaurants, book accommodation and explore unfamiliar cities.
So surely we need an app to walk nearly 800 kilometres across France?
Not necessarily.
Between us, Robert and I have spent more than a decade walking the Le Puy Route, researching every stage, updating our guidebook and answering questions from thousands of English-speaking pilgrims through our website and Facebook community.
One thing has become very clear.
Most people can walk the route perfectly well without constantly checking an app.
And many enjoy the experience far more because of it.
The Le Puy Route Is Not a Wilderness Trail
One of the biggest misconceptions among first-time pilgrims is that they'll be navigating through remote wilderness with very little guidance.
The reality is quite different.
The Le Puy Route follows the GR65, one of France's best-established long-distance hiking trails. Throughout the journey you'll find the familiar red-and-white waymarks painted on signposts, trees, walls, rocks, buildings and at countless junctions.
They're everywhere.
Of course, no marking system is perfect. Occasionally a marker disappears. Construction work creates a temporary diversion. Sometimes you're simply distracted by a conversation or a beautiful view.
But for the overwhelming majority of the route, navigation is remarkably straightforward.
You are rarely alone for long, and if ever you're uncertain, another pilgrim is usually just a few minutes behind or ahead.
Once you know what you're looking for, you'll start seeing the familiar red-and-white GR65 waymarkers everywhere—painted on trees, walls, rocks, bridges, signposts and village streets.
Just a few examples of the thousands of GR65 waymarks that guide pilgrims along the Le Puy Route.
When the Screen Becomes the Experience
Carrying a smartphone isn't the problem.
The problem is when the screen becomes the experience.
Walking the Le Puy Route again last year, I noticed something that genuinely surprised me. Pilgrim after pilgrim walked with their eyes fixed on a phone, waiting for an app to tell them when to turn.
I remember almost being in shock. The path was right there.
The familiar red-and-white GR65 waymarks appeared on signposts, walls, trees and at almost every junction. Why, I kept wondering?
Why let an app tell you what the trail is already showing you?
Why interrupt a moment that doesn't need interrupting?
Why not trust the path a little?
Why not trust yourself?
The irony is that many people spend more time watching a moving blue dot than looking at the countryside they travelled halfway around the world to experience.
Yet all around them, the trail is speaking.
A faded GR65 waymark on an old stone wall.
A weathered wooden signpost.
A shell painted on a tree.
The sound of pilgrims chatting just ahead.
The path itself.
The Le Puy Route doesn't simply lead you across France. Little by little, it teaches you to trust the path... and, perhaps more importantly, to trust yourself.
It offers something that's becoming increasingly rare in modern life.
The opportunity to stop checking.
To stop verifying.
To stop controlling every detail.
Instead, it invites us to trust.
To notice the changing landscape.
To hear church bells drifting across a valley.
To admire the light falling on an old Romanesque church.
To smell freshly cut hay.
To watch the morning mist lifting over the Aubrac Plateau.
To stop and talk with another pilgrim.
To walk with curiosity rather than constant confirmation.
Perhaps that's one of the greatest gifts of pilgrimage.
Confidence Is More Important Than Navigation
Many first-time pilgrims worry about getting lost.
It's perfectly natural.
After all, you'll be walking for hundreds of kilometres through a country that may be completely unfamiliar.
In reality, taking a wrong turn for a few minutes is rarely a disaster.
Sometimes the fear of getting lost creates far more anxiety than actually getting lost.
A small detour might lead to a hidden chapel.
A friendly conversation.
A beautiful viewpoint you would otherwise have missed.
Or simply a reminder that you're more capable than you thought.
Most pilgrims discover that the Le Puy Route isn't simply teaching them how to follow a path.
Little by little, it's teaching them confidence.
And confidence is one of the most valuable things you'll carry home.
When an App Can Be Helpful
None of this means technology has no place on the Le Puy Route.
Quite the opposite.
We both carry smartphones ourselves.
They can be invaluable for:
checking temporary route diversions
contacting accommodation
finding a pharmacy or supermarket
checking the weather forecast
arranging transport
dealing with emergencies
The question isn't whether you should bring a phone.
Of course you should.
The question is whether it needs to direct every single step of your pilgrimage.
For most people, the answer is no.
Think of technology as a safety net rather than your guide.
So Why Did We Create a Guidebook?
If there's one thing we've learned after years of walking the Le Puy Route, it's this:
Pilgrims rarely need more navigation.
They need better information.
Reliable information gives you confidence.
And confidence allows you to put the phone away, lift your eyes, and simply enjoy the journey.
That's exactly the philosophy behind Walking the Via Podiensis Made Simple.
Because information and navigation are not the same thing.
The Le Puy Route is generally very well waymarked.
Most pilgrims don't need someone telling them every few minutes where they are.
What they do need is reliable information that helps them prepare, make good decisions and walk with confidence.
Things like:
Where to sleep.
Where to find food.
Which services are available.
How to plan stages that suit your walking pace.
Which route alternatives exist.
Where you'll find water.
What cultural and historical treasures you'll discover along the way.
Good information doesn't distract you from the pilgrimage.
It frees you to enjoy it.
That's the philosophy behind our guide, Walking the Via Podiensis Made Simple.
Rather than replacing the trail with a screen, the guide was designed to help you prepare before you set off each morning. It brings together practical information, accommodation listings, suggested stages, elevation profiles, route options, town maps and local knowledge gathered over years of walking the route ourselves.
Our hope has never been to tell pilgrims where they are every few metres.
Our hope is to give them the confidence to put the phone away, look up, and simply enjoy walking.
If you'd like to learn more about the guide, you can find all the details here:
Our Philosophy
We're not anti-technology.
Use an app if it gives you peace of mind.
Carry GPS tracks if they help you feel confident.
Keep your phone fully charged.
But perhaps consider using technology as a backup rather than as your constant guide.
The Le Puy Route has welcomed pilgrims for centuries.
Long before smartphones.
Long before GPS.
Long before anyone watched a blue dot moving across a screen.
Today, the familiar red-and-white GR65 waymarks continue to guide thousands of walkers safely across France.
Bring your phone.
Use it when you need it.
But don't forget to spend most of your pilgrimage looking ahead rather than looking down.
Some of the most unforgettable moments on the Camino won't appear on a screen.
They're waiting just beyond the next bend in the path.
Prepare well.
Walk freely.
Trust the path.
Continue Planning Your Pilgrimage
Before you set off, you might also enjoy these guides:
About the Authors
Robert and Kate have spent more than a decade walking, researching and writing about the Le Puy Route (Via Podiensis/GR65).
Together they run one of the largest English-speaking communities dedicated to the route and have helped thousands of pilgrims prepare for their pilgrimage through their website, guidebook and online resources.
Their philosophy is simple: provide the practical information pilgrims need while encouraging pilgrims to experience the Le Puy Route with confidence, curiosity and an open heart.
Comments