The long and gently winding road - a pilgrimage through Portugal

Feb 23, 2010, 14:00 GMT

Porto, Portugal - The Way of St James to Sanitago de Compostela remains as popular as ever and this year the Spanish place of pilgrimage expects to welcome a record 240,000 hikers and ten million visitors.

2010 is a special year in Santiago which regularly marks the anniversary of the death of the apostle St James with a so-called Xacobeo. This event takes place when the anniversary on July 25 falls on a Sunday. This occurs only four times every 28 years, with the next occurence 2010.

No doubt, many pilgrims this year will choose the most popular route to Santiago through France, yet the Portuguese Way, or Camino Portgues, is an attractive alternative. It gently winds northwards, along ancient tracks and paths that traverse woodlands, farmlands, villages, towns and historic cities.

The path starts in the city of Porto. Portugal's second-largest, and leads through the greener northern part of Portugal and along the Spanish Atlantic coast. Porto has great charm and there is much to be discovered in its labyrinthine streets, fronted with faded facades.

The older part of Porto has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. A visit to such magnificent baroque churches as Capela das Almas or the Igreja de Sao Francisco with its typically northern Portuguese glazed tiles makes it easy to see why. More than 20,000 of these so-called Azulejos can be found at the city's station where a giant mural recounts the history of the land.

A stroll across the busy Mercado do Bolhao market is best followed by a visit to the legendary Majestic coffee house. Locals say it serves the best coffee in Porto. Refreshed from their beverage, visitors might then like to tackle the climb of 75 metres to the top of the tower of the Igreja e Torre dos Clerigos church.

The highest vantage point of this house of worship offers a fine view over the old district and the river Douro. The promenade here bustles of an evening and a visit to the port wine cellars behind the opposite bank is obligatory for most tourists.

Taking leave of Porto is not easy, and the initial route through the less attractive suburbs of the city does not offer much comfort to pilgrims. Fortunately it is not far to Rates and shortly afterwards, on day two, the first vineyards come into view. Fruit groves and gently undulating countryside accompany the walkers who are spared the often alarmingly hectic roads of this region.

The stages are moderate in length and the pace manageable. One of the reason why many pilgrims opt for the Portuguese route is that the 235 kilometres can easily be completed in 10 days. This leaves enough freedom to spend some time in one or other of the attractive places along the way.

The town of Barcelos is known for hosting the largest weekly market in Portugal. Visitors are greeted by the impressive 18th- century Nossa Senhora do Terco church, once part of a monastery. The exterior is plain, but inside it is beautifully decorated with panels of tiles and gilded wood.

The next destination is Ponte de Lima, a community of 3,000 souls. Ponte is one of the most beautiful towns in Portugal's north-west corner, the Alto Minho and a favoured stop for pilgrims. The region is unspoiled and largely unvisited by foreigners.

Even more idyllic is the section of the St James way beyond Ponte. The route passes Rubiaes, which is located at the heart of the vinho verdi demarcated wine region. The traveller also encounters dense pine forests on the way to Valenca, whose mighty town walls stand at the border with Spain.

The international bridge leads to Tui in Spain, with its cathedral which resembles a fortress. The imposing Gothic Romanesque edifice dates back to the 12th century. Via O Porrino and Mos the pilgrims eventually arrive in Redondela with its impressive metal railway viaduct. The Casa da Torre, a Renaissance mansion, is the preferred inn hereabouts for weary pilgrims.

On the way to Pontevedra the Ponte Sampaio bridge has to be crossed. It was here that local Spanish forces overcame the Napoleonic army during the Peninsula War, dealing them one of their most severe defeats in Galicia.

From here onward, the roads past the villages are lined with cruceiros and horerros, the typical Galician granaries or loosely- bult silos where air circulation dries out the corn. Narrow alleyways lead to Pontevedra's squares such as the Praza da Lena, where pilgrims can relax over a glass of Albarino, or Galacian white wine.

Devout pilgrims may want to seek out the main sight of the town, an 18th century church known as the sanctuary Virxe Peregrina with a ground plan of a scallop shell.

From Caldas de Reis, with its hot thermal springs, the Portuguese Way of St James continues on to Padron. Legend has it that the town was named after a stone used to tie up a ship carrying the body of the apostle St James. From here the remains were said to have been taken by ox-cart to Santiago.

The long and winding road wends its way through fields of maize, past hills clad with grape vines and cool pine forests until the pilgrims finally reach the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a truly uplifting sight to behold.