The Camino Portugues

 

The official starting point of the Portuguese Camino is Portugal´s capital, Lisbon. There are then 621km separating you from your destination – Santiago de Compostela. Most pilgrim´s however start their Portuguese Camino in Porto.  Back in 2016 was the first time I cycled the Porto to Santiago Coastal route of the Portuguese Way. Since then, I´ve tested out all the variations of The Camino Portugues by foot and by bike. I would struggle to say which is my favourite as they are all perfect journeys in their own ways. The Camino Portugues is the second most popular route after the Camino Frances. If you are planning on walking this route, to reach Santiago from Lisbon (621km) allow 25 days, from Porto (243km) allow 10 days and from Tui (117km) allow 5 days.

 

Where to start and getting there and away. Porto to Santiago make for particularly logical and attractive starting and ending points for your journey. Not only are they two very different and but equally wonderful cities, both right up there as top destinations rich in culture, food, architecture and steeped in history. They are also very easy to get to and from as both have international airports with an abundance of flights. You´ll need more time on your hands for your Camino if you start in Lisbon. Tui and Vigo are also good places to start your journey. For these two your best bet is to fly to Vigo which is 15 minutes by taxi from Tui. Santiago and Porto are also possibilities but you´ll need to then take a private transfer or public transport to your starting points.  

 

Which Camino? To call it the Portuguese Camino is slightly misleading as it implies that there is just one Camino to reach Santiago but there are in fact various paths you can take. With the Camino Portugues, you have three options from Porto - The Central Camino, The Coastal Camino or The Litoral Camino. The latter is a slight variation on the Coastal Camino as it follows the coast all the way whereas the Coastal Route goes inland on the first day.

 

When you reach Pontevedra you are also presented with an option, continue on the Central Camino or take the Spiritual Variant. The Spiritual Variant is also known as the Arousa Sea Route or Translatio Route, is a beautiful trail, taking pilgrims through quaint coastal villages, lush forest tracks, vineyards, sandy beaches, and ancient monasteries following an alternative route to the classic Camino Portugues. The variant itself begins in Pontevedra and ends in Pontecesures, where it joins the final leg of the Portuguese Camino. From Armenteira, The Camino leads pilgrims along the Stone and Water Route, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Galicia and I would be inclined to agree. The Spiritual Variant might be the newest of the official Camino´s but it is probably in fact the oldest of them all. Legend has it that St James’ remains were transported from Jerusalem to the mouth of the Ulla River and disembarked in what was then called Iria Flavia and today is the city Padrón. From here they were transported overland to Santiago de Compostela. One of the peculiarities of this variant is the opportunity to do the last section between Vila Nova de Arousa and Pontecesures by boat, sailing in the waters of the Arousa estuary and arriving via the last navigable section of the Ulla River. The route passes through a beautiful natural area, visiting the only Holy Way River crossing in the world, where you can see seventeen ancient crosses that identify this Camino de Santiago as Translatio, the origin of all Caminos.

 

The central Portuguese Way is probably the most popular route. It passes through the towns of Santarém, Coimbra, Barcelos or Ponte de Lima and enters Galicia through Tui. It is a truly lovely route, through lush green vines and pretty villages totally unspoiled with the passage of time. It mainly follows Roman roads and crosses ancient bridges The Central Camio tends to have better infrastructure such as accommodation, towns, restaurants, and shops. It is also more interesting historically and architecturally speaking. It is a tad shorter than the coastal route and doesn’t enjoy those occasional if challenging coastal Atlantic winds and rain.

    

It is shortly after Porto where the Coastal Camino splits from the central way at Vila do Conde. The Coastal route obviously has the attraction of walking or cycling with the sea by your side for most of the time and passes through some very pretty seaside and fishing towns with brightly coloured fishermen’s cottages. On this route you enter Galicia via the border town of A Guarda. The joy of this one being that you get to take a small ferry. The Coastal Way grew in popularity in the 15th century thanks to the advent of the Age of Discovery or Age of Exploration as the coastal towns grew in importance.

 

There are no important ascents or descents with any of the routes so with a reasonable level of fitness all of them make for a very enjoyable pilgrimage either on foot or by bike. I would be amiss not to mention (from experience!) that cycling the coastal route you can meet some headwind which unless you´re on an electric bike can be hard work at times. But please don´t let that put you off, it´s flat, undulating at most and the Atlantic coast views are unbeatable. Your pace enables you to really soak up the scenery around you and watch the world go by as you pass through those seaside towns and rural villages and landscapes.

 

All this said, having walked and cycled all the variations on this route, you can´t go wrong with any of them. All options pack in a rich variety of wonderful scenery, beautiful villages, culture and cuisine at every stage of your journey. Every day is different and truly delightful as your journey takes you through rural Portugal and then into Spain and finally the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

 

The Way Experiences we have put together the real highlights to create unique guided and self-guided, walking and cycling tours. Our Guided Cycling Tour from Porto to Santiago, follows the traditional itinerary of the Portuguese Camino that uses the shortest way between Porto and Santiago through the interior instead of the longer route that travels next to the sea. We also offer a Self-Guided Walking Tour from Tui and a Self-Guided Walking Tour with the Spiritual Variant starting in Vigo. ¡Buen Camino!

 

 

 

 

 

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