Camino Portugués: Stage17

This is a hard stage, you will have to walk for more than 30 kilometres, the best part is that you will visit amazing monuments and also amazing places. First you will cross a medieval-gothic bridge and also cross the Igreja Matriz de Santa María de Barcelos church. If you are lucky you will see its weekly fair that is considered the biggest open-air market in Portugal.

You will leave this village to walk up to Portela and Albergaría. It is the hardest part of today’s stage. You have to take into account that there are no services in this villages so you have to take all the provisions form the very beginning. You will go through Rua do Bem Feito to start following the way that is signed by the famous yellow arrows. Then you will get to a bridge called circular, you will get to this bridge after turning left through the Rua Dr. Manuel Pais street and continue straight forward once you get to the roundabout then you will have to continue straight forward again in the next roundabout and then, a little bit after you will have to turn right to get to Rua San Mamede street. After one kilometer and a half, after crossing the Igreja de Vila Boas church you will be walking again on the road and also secondary roads. You will cross some chapels, then you will have to turn right to cross the Igreja de Tamel São Pedro Fins to get to Portela de Tamel. Once you have crossed this church you will have to walk through the national road N-204 for a while and then you will have to turn left through another road towards Quintiães that belongs to Barcelos.

Then you will descend through a path to get to the Igreja de Aborim church and its stone cross. Then you will cross a level crossing towards the Ponte das Tábuas bridge. Once you get to this medieval bridge from the 12 century you will have to turn right to get to the N-308 and to Beligães to visit its Romanesque São MArtinho church. You will leave this village crossing the N-204, you will see Casa Fernanda, a place where you can stay the night if you decide to divide this stage. Then you will have to cross the M538 and walk to get to the Igreja Matriz de Vitorino dos Piães church. After 300 meters you will turn left to enter into a path that goes parallel to some houses. Then you will get again to the national road in Portela da Facha and then you will have to turn left through a path that will lead you to a commarcal road that crosses Borgonha and Sobreiro. After crossing this village you will have to walk through the Rua Río Lima street crossing some villages such as the ones that we have just mentioned. It is an important highlight that you will coss some important monuments and places such as the Capela de Nossa Senhora das Neves chapel. Then you will get to the Lima river, it has a lovely medieval bridge. Tells the story that Roman soldiers did not dare to cross it thinking that it was haunted, and that they would lose their memory if they did it. Commander Decimus Junius Brutus, seeing that soldiers were hesitant, led the way and crossed the river, calling them one by one to prove the bridge was not haunted.

Ponte da Lima is famous because it was considered the first village of Portugal in the 12 century. It is famous due to its old city where you will find a church.

Bear in mind

It is a long stage that goes from Barcelos to Ponte de Lima. You can divide this stage into two and stay the night in Vitorino dos Piães. Most part of today’s stage goes through an asphalted road. Generally, this stage does not bring any difficulties for cyclists or people with reduced mobility.