Camino Portugués
16.3 km, 241 m up and 274 m down, through 4 places, 1 of which has somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Grijó. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.
The natural setting around Grijo is the prettiest for a long stretch — high walls, shade, and a welcome sense of enclosure after so much exposed road walking. The Mosteiro de Grijo, a former Augustinian monastery dating …
A hamlet between Grijo and Vila Nova de Gaia. No services.
A small village on the approach to Vila Nova de Gaia. No services.
Upon arriving in Vila Nova de Gaia you are presented with a large roundabout and tram terminal. Continue along the tram line; it is a straight walk all the way to Porto. When you get to the end of town, the bridge over the Rio Douro has two crossings. The upper crossing will take you to the Sé Cathedral in Porto, and the lower one will take you to the riverfront in Porto. It is advisable to check the location of your accommodation before choosing which way to go, as taking the lower route (which is the marked trail) will require you to make up the elevation difference later.
Between Porto and the border with Spain, the camino splits into three distinct routes. They are known as the Central Way, the Coastal & Litoral Ways, and the Braga Way. Additionally, there are several paths that connect each of these options, creating a network of trails that can sometimes seem confusing. The best plan is to pick one of the options and simply follow it to its natural end.Leaving a large city is often a challenging combination of searching for arrows, heavy traffic, and durable city pavements. As an alternative, it is possible to take the Porto Metro to the city limits or beyond.THE CENTRAL WAYThe Central Way is currently the most popular and well-developed option. As the name implies, the route continues due north from Porto up the center of Portugal. It crosses into Spain at Valença/Tui and continues from there through Redondela to Santiago. THE COASTAL and LITORAL WAYSThe Coastal Way is gaining in popularity as the infrastructure and signage improve. It is sometimes referred to as the Senda Litoral, although this name is technically reserved for the sections of the route that strictly follow the coast. As the primary motivation for choosing the route is the proximity to seaside views, the route set out in this book is a combination of these two routes and the blue line indicated on the map should be interpreted as such. It leaves Porto along the Litoral Route, rather than sharing the first day of walking with the Central Way before turning westward. Where options exist they are indicated on the inset maps. The route passes through Vigo and rejoins the Central Way in Redondela.THE BRAGA WAYSome would consider this the original way, as it passes through the city of Braga where many of the Church's earliest decisions regarding Santiago were made, and where the first Bishop ordained by Santiago (Saint Peter of Braga/Rates) officiated. It was once the capital of Galicia and remains an influential city and massive tourist attraction. These days the infrastructure along the route has not kept pace with the needs of pilgrims and it is seldom traveled. Tours to Braga can be arranged in Barcelos (on the Central Way) if you wish to visit the city. This route is not included in this guide.THE VARIANTE ESPIRITUALThe Variante Espiritual is a popular alternative route north of Pontevedra. It is a two day walk which ends in a 29km boat ride to the town of Pontecesures.
Before you set off be certain to pick up a pilgrim’s credencial if you have not already done so. It can be found at the Sé Cathedral. This accordion-fold booklet is your passport to the camino and will become your most cherished souvenir of the trip. It is a required document in most pilgrim-specific accommodation, earns you pilgrim prices in many museums, and will serve as proof of your journey when presented to the Pilgrim Office in Santiago if you are planning on getting your Compostela Certificate.As large towns go, Porto is no different when it comes to finding the camino. In fact, it is complicated somewhat by the fact that there are three different caminos between here and Santiago, be aware that you may see signs indicating the ‘Coastal Route’ or the ‘Braga Route,’ or the ‘Central Route’; amongst others.
The sprawl from Porto's centre runs all the way to Giao — 25 km of continuous urban development. This is more than enough walking on hard surfaces, and it's not uncommon for pilgrims to bypass the worst of it by taking t…
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 137 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 15.3 km.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.