Portuguese Way
Have a good way!
Why choosing the Portuguese Way
This is a different Way: we will not find plateaus, complicated heights or marked unevennesses as it happens, for example, with the French Way; but we will be able to enjoy forests and millenary cruises that hide under their cloaks the songs of the old troubadours of the high medieval epoch and the songs of friend, love and curse of Martin Codax or Mendiño.
In the twentieth century suffered a small process of stagnation due to the famous appearance of the Virgin to three shepherds in the Portuguese town of Fatima, which led to the Sanctuary, which was erected in honor of the Virgin, occupy the protagonism to the detriment of the pilgrim route to Santiago. However, it would not be long before the feeling of devotion to the Apostle and the international positioning of the route beyond the peninsula came to light again.
Two different detours
Two routes are even drawn , one of them known as the Portuguese way along the coast that reaches Galician lands through A Guarda, passes through Baiona and Vigo and connects in Redondela with the other slope that enters Galicia through Tui, the most popular and recurrent. It crosses O Porriño, Redondela, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis or Padrón before reaching Santiago and being able to hug the image of the Apostle. It’s a easy ride to the finish line through magical paths that cross forests, villages, pazos and fortresses while saving rivers over medieval bridges.
Chapels, churches and convents are our constant travel companions in this adventure that consolidates each year with more strength among the pilgrims, coming to situate the Portuguese Way as the most traveled of all the ways in the last years, only behind the most famous of the routes, the French. The signposting of the route is correct, especially in the Galician territory and the number of establishments is growing with an extensive public and private hostel service, especially from Porto. The fact of not being overcrowded, its great natural beauty and allows us to travel two countries, make this route, a highly recommended option to walk to the Galician capital.
The spiritual variant
On arrival in Pontevedra, already in Galicia, many pilgrims decide to follow the known as spiritual variant of the Portuguese Way, that connects this with the route of Traslatio. This is the same route that the remains of the Apostle St. James followed until they were deposited in Santiago de Compostela.
This alternative route continues from Pontevedra through three Stages: Armenteira, Vilanova, and finally Santiago, in a total distance of 98 kms. Its main peculiarity is that the last stretch is done by boat leaving the Arousa estuary to ascend the Ulla river to Pontecesures, 17 crossroads will guide us in a unique maritime-river crossing.
25 Stages / 620 Kms
Stages on foot
It continues by the Principal Way (or it continues by the coast way)
11 Stages / 582 Kms
Stages of portuguese Way by bike
❯ Santarem
93,5Km • 3/5
❯ Tomar
62Km • 3/5
❯ Rabaçal
63,4Km • 3/5
❯ Mealhada
51,7Km • 3/5
❯ Oliveira de Azeméis
60,5Km • 3/5
❯ Oporto
43,2Km • 2/5
❯ Barcelos
53Km • 3/5
❯ Rubiães
51Km • 4/5
❯ Redondela
53Km • 2/5
❯ Caldas de Reis
41Km • 2/5
❯ Santiago de Compostela
55Km • 4/5
You will like this way, if you like…
Cities and towns
Lisboa
Águeda
Oporto
Tui
Pontevedra
Caldas de Reis
More information…
About the Portuguese Way
History
The importance of this route began to be latent from the twelfth century, after the independence of Portugal commanded by King Alfonso I. Pilgrims who left Portuguese lands towards the north of the peninsula did so for more varied reasons than spiritual ones. The cultural and economic reasons, created human ties between the neighboring territories that prevailed in the time, giving form to a route with a rich history that would keep numerous cultural and commercial exchanges between Galicia and its neighboring country.
Numerous representatives of the nobility, kings and high clerics contributed with their pilgrimages to establish a Jacobean devotion that would gradually increase until consolidating itself as one of the most frequented in our days. Documentary reports of these events are still in force, such as the case of the pilgrimage of Doña Isabel de Portugal who, after walking the After walking the Camino to Santiago in the 14th century, she offered before the altar of the Apostle her crown of Empress of the Holy Roman Empire and, after her death, she became known as the “Holy Queen”. She was buried in Coimbra with a pilgrim staff as described before her death.
King Manuel I of Portugal (The Fortunate) and his pilgrimage from Lisbon in 1502, who ordered the installation of a lamp to light day and night the Cathedral of Santiago, the Jesuit Fathers and their route in 1543 from Coimbra, the Portuguese painter, humanist and architect Francisco de Holanda in 1549, the bishop of Tui in 1604 or the viscount of Ponte de Lima in 1610 were other representatives of the nobility and the clergy who contributed to the establishment of the Portuguese route as an important pilgrimage route to the tomb of the Apostle.
Lisbon, Santarem, Coimbra, Oporto, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima and Valença do Minho became a vertical route that crossed the Portuguese country from south to north creating a road network designed to reach the bank of the river Miño and make the leap to Galician lands. Its layout is made up of old roads and ways inherited from the Romanesque age, such as the XIX road, built in the 1st century a.c. to connect Braga with Astorga.
Best season to do the Portuguese Way
The Portuguese Way, being the second most popular of the Pilgrims’ Routes to Santiago de Compostela, is a route on which pilgrims Santiago, is a route that will never lack pilgrims at any time or season of the year as it is a relatively season of the year as it is a relatively simple variant and where there are plenty of services and hostels simple and where there are plenty of services and hostels where to stay. to stay.
That’s why you will have no problem to live this experience whenever you want, but you should always take into account two very important factors: the weather and the influx of pilgrims.
Thus, if you choose to do the Portuguese Way in winter, you will find that there are you will find many fewer pilgrims and with a less crowded route, but you will crowded, but you will have to face worse weather conditions for which you will have to weather conditions for which you will have to prepare yourself by taking the necessary necessary equipment. On the other hand, if you prefer the summer months, especially in summer months, especially August, the weather will be much more favourable, although you will also notice a much greater influx of pilgrims.
Our recommendation is therefore that you dedicate the spring to enjoy the Portuguese enjoy the Portuguese Way or wait until the end of September so that the weather the weather is not so adverse and the route is not so crowded. crowded.
Distances and elevation
Elevation Profile
Other recommended routes
There are many other routes, take a look below at the best alternatives:
313 km / 14 days
764 km / 33 days
119 km / 6 days
115 km / 5 days
304 km / 13 days
960 km / 38 days
Useful Information
Frequently asked questions about the Portuguese Way
As reflected in the stages section the Portuguese Way is composed of a total of 25 stages over a distance of 620 km starting from the the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. If you do the Portuguese Way by bike there will be 11 stages.
If your goal is to get the Compostela, you must walk at least the last 100 km of the Camino, in the case of this route the starting point would be the town of Tui, on the border with Portugal. However, if you do the Camino by bike, the minimum distance is 200 km, which would take you to start from Oporto.
Along the Portuguese route you will pass through a large number of towns, each with its own charm. However, there are a number of towns/cities that make pilgrims fall in love wth them as they pass through: Lisboa, Oporto, Coímbra o Redondela, among others.
The Portuguese Way does not stand out especially for its landscapes but for the richness of its historical and cultural heritage. In the towns of Coimbra and Porto you will find ancient buildings worthy of admiration and that will make you want to spend more than one day in these towns.
The Portuguese Way is the second most popular pilgrimage route of all those that make up the Camino de Santiago. Along with the French Way, it is the only one that runs through two different countries and ends in Santiago de Compostela. On arrival in Porto there is a detour towards the Portuguese coast, which is rejoined in Galicia (Spain), in the town of Redondela; this alternative route is called the Coastal Portuguese Way.
In Pilgrim.es we have the most complete information about this Camino and many more. Enter our website and discover all the routes that make up the Camino de Santiago, its stages, maps and even the villages with their indications on what to see in each one.
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