Camino Portugués
19.3 km, 178 m up and 48 m down, through 5 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 Tomar. 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.
To leave town cross the river over the Marques do Pombal bridge (it is a single lane bridge with a pedestrian path, and you will be going against the car traffic). Turn left at the start of the Alameda, left again onto Joao dos Santos Simaos, and then right onto Avenida Doutor Egas Moniz.Just past the bullring turn left and then right slightly. Not far ahead you will pass the very prison-like (literally and metaphorically) Infantry Barracks.The road gives way to a country trail and in a short distance arrives at the locally renowned Ponte de Peniche.Keep straight at the junction after the bridge, and continue to cross under the IC9, keeping to your left after doing so. It is pleasant country roads through planted forests.At the first paved intersection (a four-way intersection 3km after passing under the IC9), turn right onto the road. Follow it to the first fork and veer right into Casais.
Keep on through town, turning left towards the church and curiously large cemetery and back onto the road into Soianda.
Passing through Soianda is a straight shot, with the only real choice of direction at the far end of town. Turn left when you get there.There is a steep grade ahead, first down and then back up into Calvinos. The road signs indicate a 10% grade, so take your time and if you are out of breath by the end, it is to be expected.
Keep more or less straight into town, through an offset intersection.Turn right at the next intersection to follow the primary road.The next ‘square’ has a bar and a mini-market. Turn left there to leave the main road and head back into the countryside.
You will emerge into the minuscule Freguesia with its modern church.Turn right before the church, and then left again and just like that you have left Freguesia behind. Quiet lanes will bring you to Ceras where you join the main road.
The camino takes you mostly around Ceras, and as you approach the town, it will be on your right-hand side.At the first T-intersection turn right (towards the main road) but left again on the first street. The idea here is to keep off the main road as much as possible and in 100m on you will have to turn right towards the road again.Turn left onto the IC3 and follow it for 250m, at which point the camino leaves the road via a path on the right.Once on that path, you will turn left to cross a stream and then turn right again, and at the next intersection turn right again to take you past a ranch; at this point, you will be walking away from the IC3 and back into the forest along a dirt path.NOTE: The next intersection is poorly marked. 1.2km from the ranch the trail you want turns left at a fork and up to the ridge but is poorly indicated. If you get to a 4-way junction, you have gone too far. Fact: this is the eastern most point of the Camino.Turn left up that trail and you will eventually pass through Portela de Vila Verde.
A hamlet between Ceras and Portela de Vila Verde. No services.
The path splits here and rejoins before Areias. Both ways are below, because the question is which to take, and that is not a question two separate pages can answer.
Pass straight through Daporta and at the first 4-way intersection (after passing through town) turn left onto a dirt road. The junction can be identified by the utility building with a blue door on your left. The path turns back on itself and climbs uphill before entering a cork plantation which transitions into a eucalyptus forest.The forest is well marked and pleasant walking. It is about 2.6km before you arrive at the first large intersection with the main road. At this point, you are technically in Tojal, but there are no houses. Up the road on your right is a gas station.Cross through this intersection and carry on straight in the direction of Alvaiázere (centro). You will be on a paved road all the way to Cortiça (3.2km), passing olive groves along the way.
Distances are the sum of the town-to-town measurements in my data, not a straight line on a map. Climb and descent come from the altitude of each place listed above, so they under-read where the path goes over a hill between two of them.
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.