The way is waymarked with orange arrows in the opposite direction to the Camino de Santiago, since Ignatius was walking east toward the Mediterranean and a ship for Jerusalem, and for its first stages it shares paths with the Camino Vasco del Interior. Stage 1 climbs from the Sanctuary of Loyola to Zumárraga, 18.2 km (11.3 mi); the second day crosses to the Marian sanctuary of Arantzazu; the route then drops through Álava into the Ebro valley, follows the river past Logroño, Calahorra, and Tudela, crosses Aragon by way of Zaragoza, and climbs into Catalonia through Lleida and Igualada before the last stage into Manresa and the Santa Cova. A five-stage extension to Rome is described separately.
Most pilgrims do not walk all 27 stages at once. Common patterns are the full four weeks; a Basque first week from Loyola to Arantzazu and Vitoria; or the final week into Manresa, with Montserrat a day away. Jesuit-led groups walk it as a moving retreat, pairing each stage with a step of the Exercises, and the site provides a daily spiritual guide for that purpose; walking alone is common, and the stage pages carry lodging lists and weather links.
Practical notes: the Ebro valley and Aragon are hot and shadeless in July and August, so spring and fall are the seasons to choose; the credential can be obtained before starting and is stamped at parishes and lodgings; the certificate is issued at the pilgrim office in Manresa. The existing pages on the Sanctuary of Loyola and on St. Ignatius's cave in Manresa cover the two ends.