The Portuguese route nowadays: the path
There are approximately 600 Kilometers of pilgrimage from Lisbon to Santiago, which can be walked in 24 days, with an average of 25 km. by day. From Oporto this distance is smaller: just 240 kilometers, just 10 days. From Tui it is even smaller: 119 kilometers, to be walked conveniently in 5 or 6 days. Among all the St. James ways this is probably the one that shows a more straight route. There is of course some soft slopes, but there is no any mountain pass at all, that could demand any big effort. In Galicia the way runs parallel to the Rias Baixas (estuaries) of Vigo and Pontevedra, but this seaworthy landscape is not visible from the Camino, unless you consciously divert from the way.
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Signposting
From Tui to Santiago there is no risk of getting lost, because, as in the other ways, there are plenty of the typical boundary stones with an indicator with the distance, provided by the Xunta de Galicia (the local government).
Hostels and most important monuments
Between Lisbon and Oporto there are no hostels as the ones that you can find in Spain. Because of that you should stay in the fire station provided for their volunteers, in the Posadas de la Juventud (Youth hospitality) or in parish houses.
Between Oporto and Valença do Minho there are hostels for pilgrims provided by the town or any religious order, in any of the most common stages’ ends. In the Spanish stages you can find many hostels easily by Google Maps, both public and private ones.
Lastly, we would like to highlight the most important monuments that you can find by the way: there are many on it!
From Tui to Redondela there is a stop that should not be skipped: The Cathedral of Maria de Tui. It was built in the 12th Century, according to a Romanesque style, enriched subsequently with Gothic elements.
Its main front is especially important, and it is considered the very first sculptural gothic monument in the entire Iberian Peninsula. Its magnificent medieval cloister is the only one with those characteristics in Galicia. It is situated in the highest area of the city, in a hill, and that is why the building can be saw from many points in Tui.
From Redondela and Santiago you can also find the Church of Our Lady of the Way (Virxe do Camiño). It was built in the 15th Century, and has been declared National Heritage site recently. In the past was used as a hostel for the pilgrims who walked from Compostela to Finisterre.
These are just some of the most important monuments that you can find all along the Portuguese Route, but not the only ones. If you decide to walk by this route you will also enjoy beautiful romanesque examples as the Ponte Sampaio, as spectacular as the Puente la Reina, no much less known.
Would you like to walk this Way? Have you walked the Portuguese Route already? We are looking for your comments, to add all the information to our post.
