Camino Portugués
22.1 km, 164 m up and 392 m down, through 10 places, 5 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Pecene. 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.
Straight through town, passing between the Capela and the Casa de Capela.
The arrows in town are not the best. To get through head to the church and turn left after passing it... after taking a rest in the bosky park in front. The camino keeps to the forest trails through Gontumil to Fontoura.
A hamlet in the forest between Sao Bento and Fontoura. No services.
The camino rejoins a paved road before Fontoura, and then a larger one as it passes through town. On the far end of town, it turns off this road to the left and towards Paços.
A hamlet between Fontoura and Valenca. No services.
A bridge crossing on the approach to Tuido. No services.
The camino crosses the busy N13 here, following the Rua da Viega past several Churrasqueiras, and turning left at the small chapel. Follow the signs to Arão.
Turn right past the Casa do Diogo (on your left, rooms available) and through Arão. There is not much to the town. Soon you will pass over the railway, and into the city limits of Valença. Turn right to follow the road (it is in a poor state for cars but suitable for pilgrims), turning right at the first roundabout and left at the junction shortly after. You are now walking due north towards Spain and directly into Valença.
When leaving Valença do so by following the signs through the citadel, or along the Avenida de Espanha, crossing the Tui International Bridge (often called the Valença International Bridge, but almost never the Tui Valença International Bridge). The rather quaint building nestled into the bridge on the opposite end is the original checkpoint that has long been out of use.TIP: Cross the bridge using the walkway that is on your right, not the more naturally accessible one on the left. You will have much better views of Tui this way.
Change the time on your watch/phone/sundial/wind-up alarm clock. Spain is one hour ahead, so assuming you wake up at the same hour as the day before you will find things to be darker than usual.
The camino leaves town just as quickly as it entered it, crosses the N551, and turns right onto the Camino Virgen del Camino at kilometer marker 111.499; a numbers whose significant digits inspires false confidence.
The Louro Valley lies ahead, and the massive granite mining industry situated along it lends a distinctly different feel to the way homes are built compared to only a few kilometers away in Portugal. It is not uncommon to find large slabs of rough granite used to build fences around even the most modest of family plots.
You are advised to get your credential stamped at least twice a day between here and Santiago.
The stretch of camino ahead of you is undergoing changes for the better and keep the camino on a more tranquil and safe path, but there are sections that have become slightly longer, and the directions are not fully set in stone.
This area is one of Galicia’s largest industrial centers, most of the industry centered around O Porriño. In years past this meant a grueling romp through town, just the way that the businesses (read bars) like it. Competing arrows and confusion may ensue; despite the best efforts of local activists.
As usual, a healthy dose of common sense and the use of your best judgment is in order.
In periods of high rain the stretch of road between here and O Porriño is often flooded. In these cases, the camino is temporarily re-routed. When it is, the signs are clear but not frequent and at times it will feel like you just keep walking on the road forever. Stick to the road; the signs will appear when they are needed most.
From the church here turn left onto the road and cross the large highway. You will soon begin walking alongside this road, on a pedestrian section that is paved and separated from automotive traffic. Less than 2km from the church you will pass under the highway and very soon after that the camino leaves the road up a dirt track to your right. It is here, at kilometer marker 109.278 that the camino may detour due to high water. Otherwise, it is back over the highway and onto a dirt track into Ribadelouro.
Shortly before arriving here you'll have crossed a very old stone bridge — the modern wood decking disguises its age. Locals call it the Puente de la Fiebre (Bridge of Fever) after San Telmo fell ill and died here during…
Pay close attention to the following directions. For several years, and even at the time of publication, the route ahead has been the subject of much trouble.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 190 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 22.8 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.