Portuguese Way
Caminho Português
- Cultural Route of the Council of Europe
The pilgrim road from Lisbon through Coimbra and Porto to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
At a glance
- Starts in
- Lisboa
- Ends in
- Santiago de Compostela
- Length
- 620 km
- On foot
- ≈ 25–31 days
- Best months
- April–June and September–October
About the trail
Pilgrims have walked north from Lisbon to Santiago since the Middle Ages. Most start in Porto, a little over 240 km from Santiago; the full road from Lisbon is about 620 km.
South of Porto the route follows the Tagus valley and then crosses farmland through Santarém, the Templar town of Tomar and the university city of Coimbra, with long stretches on minor roads. North of Porto walkers choose between the central route inland through Barcelos and Ponte de Lima, which enters Spain over the bridge from Valença to Tui, and a coastal variant along the Atlantic that rejoins it at Redondela.
From Tui to Santiago is about 119 km, just enough for the pilgrim certificate, so this last stretch is the busiest part of the route.
No source gives the days on foot, so they are worked out from the length at 20–25 km a day.