Camino Portugués
22 km, 254 m up and 296 m down, through 12 places, 2 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Moreira. 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.
Entering Moreira, turn right at the cemetery.The camino will take a right-left-right a short distance on, and the arrows are painted low on the curb. Whether you follow them, or you miss them, you will arrive at the main road. Turn right there. A Pingo Doce and a Lidl tell you that you are on the correct road.From here it is a straight road to the Zona Industrial of Maia. Turn left when you get there.
An industrial zone. The Metro's Zona Industrial stop is nearby but not on the camino. Pingo Doce and Lidl along the road provide supplies. Turn left when you reach the zone.
The Metro of Porto Line C (Linha da Maia) has a stop called Zona Industrial but it is not along the camino.
Barranha marks a welcome change in scenery. The congestion and noise of Porto are finally behind you, though you're still on paved or cobbled paths. The walking improves from here.
If you wish to spend the night here, turn left. Otherwise, keep on straight through the intersection, passing a few bars on the way out of town.
A small kids' park and a pretty but disused square offer shade for a rest. The church is up the road to your right; the camino passes straight through.
Turn right and head towards Igreja.
At Gião - Joudina the camino has followed alongside the narrow N306 for about 2km.
The road narrows ahead, and the going was sufficiently dangerous for the camino to be rerouted to the east along a much quieter road. The distance added is 1km, but the route is pretty enough and peaceful enough to feel shorter than along the road.
There are also plenty of bars along the way, and the albergue of Vairão is best reached via the detour as well.
Public restrooms next to the church. The camino passes through on the detour between Giao and Vairao.
A hamlet on the road between Igreja and Vairao. No services.
A hamlet on the approach to Vairao. No services.
Shortly before arriving at the Monastery the camino turns left sharply. Follow that road 500m, and turn right onto a trail through the forest.
Where the forest ends turn right, and at the next big road (N318), turn left again into Vilarinho.
The camino follows the road out of town in the direction of Fontaínhas and keeps to the left at the fork, leaving the busy road just before a curve. It passes through a small hamlet and then crosses back over the road. Old arrows indicate that the camino continues along the road, but this way should only be followed if the bridge at Ponte do Ave is not passable.
The camino goes straight across the road to a set of stairs that take you down to the river.
Turn right at the first fork after the bridge. Cross through town and back uphill to the N306, which has wound its way back from where you crossed it last.Turn right on the N306, and then left on the first road. It is well marked with many arrows and a Camino de Santiago information board. If you happen to stay on the N306, you will find more arrows. It is dangerous and noisy, and you are advised to turn back.The camino is clearly marked but anything but straight. Check the direction at every intersection and you will arrive in São Mamede without trouble.
The camino leaves the road to pass through this small village and returns to it once past.It continues along the road and under the A7. Here it changes to a gravel and stone path before crossing the Ponte do Arcos.From the bridge, it is a short climb into the village of São Miguel de Arcos.
At the start of town, you will find a small intersection with a tree set in a triangular retaining wall. Turn left here and follow the curvature of the road to the first fork and turn right. The path takes you through farmland and forest and directly into Rates. An alternate route, which is newer, follows the road.
At the beginning of town the camino is unclear and confused by the presence of new arrows taking you along the road. The way to Rates is better along the old path described below. Likewise, keep an eye out for arrows which take you to Esposende on the Coastal Way, they are near the railway-line-turned-pedestrian-path which you cross over near the entrance to São Pedro de Rates.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 183 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 21.8 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.