The Camino Portugués

Most people (at least in the USA) who have heard about "the Camino" think of it as the Camino Francés that was featured in the 2010 movie called "The Way." The history of the Camino de Santiago is long and rich. By the 11th century AD, the pilgrimage to Galicia to visit the relics of St. James (the Apostle) was becoming established. By the 12th century, Santiago was one of the "big three" pilgrimage destinations along with Rome and Jerusalem. Today, there are more than 100 walkable routes to Santiago. Here are the best known ones:

Most pilgrims choose one of these routes:

In 2014, 68% of the Compostelas issued were for the Camino Francés. The second most popular route was the Camino Portugués with 15% of all pilgrims. Given that 161,994 people completed the Camino Francés, that is an average of 444 per day! The Camino Portugués was much less crowded with an average of 97 per day.

While some people start the Camino Portugués in Lisbon, Porto is a far more popular choice. About 30 people per day start there. Another 30 or so per day start in Tui (in Spain). That is the natural shortest distance that qualifies for a Compostela.

The Camino Portugués was apparently the choice of Queen Isabel of Portugal. Long ago, it was used by the Romans. The route has been well marked by local associations both in Portugal and in Galicia (Spain). Much of the route is also used for a Fatima pilgrimage (going south past Porto).

Our former parish priest at St. Mary's walks the Camino Portugués every year. He first introduced that idea to us. Thinking about the route from Porto north to Santiago de Compostela, thinking about the required time to complete that route, and thinking about smaller crowds of pilgrims made the Camino Portugués a great choice for my first Camino. I'm very glad to have made that decision.