The what? If you haven’t heard of the Camino Portugues, AKA Portuguese Way, you’re in for a treat. Choose from the inland or Central Way route to Santiago, or take the lovely Coastal Way. While they’re both enormously long there’s no law says you have to walk or cycle the entire route! A day trip to experience a chunk of either walk will give you a picture of the gruelling yet scenic journeys the old pilgrims once took to their holy destination. Here’s what you need to know.
An overview of the Camino Portugues
There are two main Caminho pilgrim routes in Portugal. The central route covers around 280km, taking roughly 15 days to complete, and the coastal path at 230km takes a couple of weeks to walk. Obviously it’s a lot faster and easier by e-bike, and you can hire e-bikes along the way.
Both end at the holy city of Santiago de Compostela, whose Archcathedral Basilica is thought to be the shrine of Saint James, one of Jesus’s apostles. He died in about 44 AD but pilgrims didn’t start making their way to his shrine until the 900s, creating numerous routes to the holy site across Portugal, France and Spain. By walking or cycling them, you follow the footsteps made by centuries of pilgrims. And that’s what we call a little bit of historic magic, as well as an excellent way to experience the landscapes of rural and coastal Portugal up close and personal.
We mentioned that these routes also cover large areas of Spain and France. That’s why we’re going to go the whole hog and talk about all of the Caminhos, not just those in Portugal itself. First, Portugal!
The Caminho Portugues
The Central Way or Caminho Central offers relatively flat landscapes, easy to walk or cycle. Heading inland from Porto, you’ll make your way through scented eucalyptus and fragrant pinewoods, past peaceful rural villages and vibrant market towns like Barcelos. Medieval Ponte de Lima in particular is very lovely. Crossing the Miño River into Galicia you’ll discover the beautiful hilltop cathedral town of Tui where the route joins the Coastal Way at Arcade.
The Coastal Way or Caminho da Costa offers just as much excitement and drama, but with fewer people. You’ll hug the Atlantic coastline from Porto, past Northern Portugal’s dunes and gorgeous beaches – Povoa de Varzim, Vila Praia de Âncora and more – before crossing the Miño back into Galicia. The little coastal village of Oia is the perfect spot to stop, eat, drink and relax before walking or cycling onwards.
Next, let’s venture further afield into France and Spain.
The Caminho Primitivo
Translating as ‘the Original Way’, this is probably the original route taken by pilgrims to Santiago, including one particularly well-known person, King Alfonso II of Asturias. He apparently took the route in the 800s, when this was the only bit of Spain not controlled by the invading Moors. It also happens to be really chilled out and quiet, probably because it’s so much more demanding on the legs and the wheels!
Kicking off at the pretty cathedral in Oviedo, you’ll pass by Lugo but a lot of the time it’ll be just you, the birds singing and the sunshine. It’s easy to travel 15 miles without seeing another soul. Expect magical views across Asturias through the Ruta de los Hospitales, where old hospitals were built to look after pilgrims en route. The grand old oak and eucalyptus woods offer cool respite from the sun and every village or hamlet feels sleepier than the last. The route gets a bit more crowded at Melide, where it hooks up with the Caminho Frances.
The best-loved of all Caminho routes, this one takes you from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, an inland marvel covering an impressive 780km in total. The medieval towns of Spain’s Navarre region are fantastic, as is Rioja country, the Oca Mountains, the Meseta central Spanish plateau, Serra de Ranadoiro mountains, and the Caminho Primitivo in the magnificent Melide River Valley, which we taled about earlier. Stop off at the cities of Astorga and Burgos, the Gothic capital of Spain, plus lovely lyrical León.
The Caminho Finisterre
Finisterre means ‘the end of the world’, referring to the fact that this is the final lap pilgrims struggle dthrough before reaching their destination. Symbolised by the iconic golden scallop shell, common along the Galician coast and eaten by hungry pilgrims, this glorious 90km stretch is all about the drama. Cape Finisterre itself is quite a sight! The fishing village of Muxía makes a nice stop-off point, as does Sarria. Expect fiery sunsets, scenic fishing villages, deep cool forests, wild seas and plenty of remote beauty.
The Caminho del Norte reveals endless coastal wonder, complete with glorious Spanish Basque country. Think Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia, set like jewels along a route that’s less busy that the popular Caminho Frances. It passes through lovely San Sebastián, Bilbao, Gijón and Santander too, along with countless pretty Basque fishing villages and fantastic beaches like Palombina and Barro. The ancient town of Llanes, overlooked by the huge Picos de Europa Mountains, is quite a sight. The whole thing takes a mighty five weeks to walk but you can experience a nice slice of the magic in a day.
The Caminho Ingles
Following the path taken by English and Irish pilgrims centuries ago, people began their pilgrimage on foot after a long and dangerous voyage by sea, landing at A Coruña or Ferrol then onwards through Galicia to Santiago de Compostela. The chunk from Ferrol is probably the most attractive, although the route from A Coruña is just as interesting. Following the coast and taking in the Ferrol Estuary, Playa Magdalena, Pontedeume and the River Lambre’s famous wetlands, you’ll eventually head inland to stroll through the hilly, verdant Galician meadows to Santiago.
Whether you’re into religion or not, these ancient routes offer an unusual day trips experience for people who like to discover the lesser-known elements f Portugal. If you find you’re inspired to do more, the fact that the routes venture into Spain and France make it an exciting focus for future holidays.
Comment (0)