Camino Portuguese – The Litoral Route

A Brief History

St. James, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles died in 44 AD, beheaded by King Herod Agrippa. After Christs death, his 12 apostles carved up the known world and Saint James received the Iberian Peninsula. After spreading the gospel throughout Spain, Saint James returned to Jerusalem, where he was beheaded for his efforts, becoming the first martyred apostle.

Some time around 800 AD a local Galician, Pelagius apparently followed a luminous cluster of stars to discover St. James’ tomb in Santiago de Compostela. James was declared the patron saint of Spain, and almost immediately pilgrims from around Europe began making the long trek to Santiago.

A Basilica was erected in 899 and the current Cathedral began construction in 1075. The first guidebook for the Camino, The Codex Calixtinus was written in 1140. It is estimated that as many as 250,000 pilgrims made the trek annually around this time. By the 13th century half a million people were walking the Camino, coming from all over Europe.

Imagine the trek these ancient pilgrims had – no high tech gear, no fancy footwear, thieves and criminals lying in wait at every turn.

Major wars during the 17th century put a halt to this pilgrimage, which did not recover until after WW2. Today half a million people again flood the various Camino routes annually, arriving from all over the world now. The Portuguese Camino is the second most popular route, with over 140,000 a year choosing this path. Most of those begin their journey in Porto, Portugal.

This is the ancient route my friend Fern and I trekked in September, 2024.

Portuguese Camino Routes

There are three distinct routes to choose from when walking the Portuguese Camino. The path officially starts in Lisbon, but most people start their journey in the beautiful medieval city of Porto, Portugal.

From Lisbon the route is 620 kilometres long, from Porto only 300 kilometres. I heard from others that the walk between Lisbon and Porto is not particularly pleasant, following busy highways much of the time. From Porto the trail to Santiago is absolutely spectacular, along boardwalks, beaches and beautiful natural trails.

Three Routes from Porto

The three routes to follow from Porto are the Central, Coastal and Litoral routes. We walked the Litoral route all the way. The Central route is the most difficult but also most cultural path, according to the locals I talked to. The Coastal route is merged at times with the Litoral trail but deviates into the mountains after a couple of days walk. We hugged the coast, sometimes hiking barefoot through the sand.

The Spiritual Variant

Just past Pontevedra, one can choose to veer off of the main Camino route and take the Spiritual path. I highly recommend this alternative route. The story of this route is colourful, magical even. Shortly after St. Jame’s beheading, his disciples Theodore and Atanasio stole his body and put it on a stone boat. Guided only by angels and stars, the boat floated it’s way down the Ulla River in Galicia. The Spiritual variant follows this water route, and even includes a boat ride down the river, where crosses have been erected along the shores.

Walking the Camino – from Porto to Santiago de Compostela

There are many ways to walk the Camino these days. Many people hire services that will carry your backpack for you, and even book hotels along the way. These services have flooded the trail with visitors that might have balked at an unsupported walk of this length. I have a friend currently walking who is just using a luggage transport service, and they even have a fancy app to keep in touch with their gear.

Fern and I walked a more authentic way, carrying our gear and looking for accommodations at the end of each day. This worked well for us up to Pontevedra, where many pilgrims begin (you only need to walk 100 km to earn a Compostela). We started making reservations a couple of days out after this. We had originally thought we would stay in traditional alburgues, hostels run especially for pilgrims but they could not be booked and were often full by the time we arrived.

Finding your Way

I did carry A Pilgrims Guide to the Camino Portuguese with the section from Lisbon to Porto ripped out and discarded for the weight of it,  but these days apps can easily replace paper. We used three apps: Camino Ninja, All Caminos and Portugues. Camino Ninja was by far the most useful. At times we switched to Google maps, as the Litoral Way seems a little less defined than the Coastal and Central routes. Booking.com  was our most useful tool for finding accommodations.

The Litoral route is almost completely flat, often on boardwalks built along the sea. In September it is possible to swim in the ocean almost every day in Portugal. In Spain the shoreline becomes much rockier.

Food and Drink

In spite of the long walks each day, you may want to consider drawstring pants. The food along the way is spectacular, particularly in Portugal. We ate plates of padron peppers piled high and sauteed in oil, acai bowls for breakfast. Just a glass of juice at a rest stop was a piece of art in Portugal. Did I mention the wine? The best wine in the world might just be produced in Portugal, and it’s so cheap you really have to reign yourself in.

Spain is no slouch for food and drink, either. You won’t be losing the Portuguese weight on that side of the border. Our favourite thing to do was to find a busy city or town around mid day so we could grab a table in a busy alley and wash some shared noshes down with wine. This might be why the alburgues were all full by the time we got there.

Notes from the Trail

• Porto – Spain; Days 1 to 5 https://traillady.com/portuguese-camino/
• Crossing into Spain; Days 5-10 https://traillady.com/portuguese-camino-crossing-into-spain/
• The Spiritual Variant; Days 11-15 https://traillady.com/portuguese-camino-the-spiritual-variant/

Our Camino Video

I have put some photos and videos together in a video linked below. Enjoy!

Bom Camiho!