Featured holiday Highlights of Northern Portugal walking holiday Portugal

You reach your first overnight stop today with your own travel arrangements, arriving first in Porto where you take a train to Pinhao in the Douro Valley. The train journey takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes and on arrival make sure you don’t miss the beautiful panels of azulejos tiles adorning the inside of the station, built at the end of the 19th century. At Pinhao a taxi will be waiting to take you the 30 minutes or so to your first hotel of the tour, in Alijo, a market town at the far edge of the Douro wine region. Allow time to check your kit, pack your rucksack and study your guides and maps. Your hotel here is a traditional pousada with outdoor swimming pool.

Today is a circular walk with a variety of scenery from the flat vineyards belonging to the villagers at Alijo to the larger wine estates with their curves, stripes and patterns on the landscape. The peaks of the Douro wine region in the distance are within view as you make your way down to the village of Sao Mamede de Ribatua (8km). Stroll around the statue garden before enjoying your packed lunch, or sampling lunch at a local restaurant, O Vizinho. The return walk starts with a fairly steep climb out of the village before levelling out for the rest of the trail which leads through more small vineyards before you reach Alijo where you stay for a second night.
Distance: About 15 kms
Time: About 4.5 hours
Ascent: 378m

This is one of the longer walks in this holiday but there are fewer hills to climb and much of the journey is either downhill or on a level track, so is less strenuous than some of the shorter walks.
This morning there is the opportunity to visit a winery this morning to taste their wines or grape juice. The route takes you through pleasant countryside to reach the ridge that runs along the hilltop where you have magnificent views of the Pinhao Valley and surrounding hills. A packed lunch accompanies you today which you can enjoy at a place of your choosing. One of the highlights of today’s route comes right at the end when you curve around the hillside before reaching Casal de Loivos to get splendid views of the Douro River and valley. There is an olive oil museum in the village where you can do an olive oil tasting as well as visit local wineries. The final section is relatively short and thoroughly picturesque as you make your way downhill from Casal de Loivos enjoying spectacular views of the River Douro and its surrounding hillside and geometric pattern of vines. The trail brings you to the main cobbled street that runs through Pinhao. Pinhao is considered to be the geographical centre of the Douro wine region and it is here that many of the Port wine estates are to be found.
Distance: About 20 kms
Time: About 6 hours

After breakfast you are transferred by car mainly along the motorway to the village of Lindoso, a journey that should take about 2.5 hours. Lindoso is situated in the Peneda-Geres National Park, Portugal’s only protected area with National Park status. This mountainous region reaches a height of about 1500 metres and is composed of granite but located between the Mediterranean and North European bio-systems, with terrain that comprises bare rock, lush pastures and deep woodland, the area is of great botanical interest and due to its remoteness over the years, it is home to a range of wildlife from the Iberian wolf, the roe deer and the Iberian wild goat to otter, buzzard, peregrine and kestrel. There are remnants of human habitation over the centuries from the small summer villages, the brandas, and the abrigos, shelters used by herdsmen, to the ‘fojos’, or wolf traps. Spring is an excellent time to visit the region as there will still be snow on the highest peaks and the weather can be very good for the walker. Plus, there is lots of activity in the fields, with the villagers preparing for sowing or the occasional herdsman walking to the uplands with his flock. You stay in Lindoso for two nights, with accommodation in a country house, situated amongst clusters of the typical granite granaries, of which there are fifty scattered below the imposing mediaeval castle. The village is an excellent base for walking in the National Park. In the afternoon, after time for lunch, you can take a short circular walk of about 3.5 km around the cobbled lanes of the village and the surrounding hillsides which allows you to view the castle from various perspectives. You’ll also catch a glimpse of the landscape that awaits you over the next two days.
Distance: About 3.5 kms
Time: About 1 hr

Today is a circular trail which starts from Lindoso with a fairly steep climb through the forest and then a long, gentle and gradual climb along a forestry track before an easy descent to the village of Cidadelhe. There are no cafes for these first 16 kms but there is the Café Santus in Cidadelhe, where you can end the walk and call a taxi but if you continue and finish the circular walk, you just have to be aware that the last part is mostly uphill from Cidadelhe to Lindoso. Part of the trail today follows the GR50 Grande Rota trail, marked with red and white lines but our path does deviate significantly so follow the route notes rather than the way markers!
Distance: About 21.5 kms
Time: About 6.5 hours

This is a linear route as you leave Lindoso and start out on an ancient path through pine, oak and eucalyptus trees, enjoying views of the mountains and moss-covered stone walls. You’ll walk beside a stream with small waterfalls and encounter lots of village life and lovely countryside. From the River Lima the route follows the main road uphill for a while until reaching a pretty path that continues uphill and into the village of Soajo. The final café is at Paradamonte after 10 km but there are picnic benches where you can enjoy your packed lunch. Part of the trail today is on the GR50 but it’s important not to be distracted by the red and white way markers.
Distance: About 14.5 kms
Time: About 4.5 hrs

Make a relatively early start this morning at about 08.30 when your taxi arrives to take you to Caminha on the River Minho just before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. The drive takes about 90 minutes. Once you reach Caminha you’ll start out on your walk from the centre of the town, Praca Conselheiro Silva Torres, an attractive square surrounded by low, white-washed buildings with stone-edge windows and terracotta roofs. In the centre of the square, surrounded by open-air café seating, is a 16th century fountain. From here south is the Costa Verde, a beautiful coastline of greenery, traditions and unspoilt sandy beaches where fishing communities still work the Atlantic Ocean and the rivers that flow into it. In the distance the mountains form a backdrop and in the nearby countryside you’ll find aristocratic manor houses and attractive Baroque churches and chapels. Traditional festivals and feast days are highlights in the calendar in this region, and local traditions are practised with handicrafts such as gold filigree jewellery and handkerchiefs of love. Viana do Castelo is renowned for its custard doughnuts (bolos de Berlim) and the Minho region produces the distinctive, Portuguese Vinho Verde, made from grapes grown on tall vines. Today’s walk is a coastal walk from the centre of Caminha on the River Minho to the fishing and seaside town of Vila Praia de Ancora, passing Moledo beach, reached through a pine forest. Moledo beach is a wide, long, sandy beach in an area of great natural beauty, and is known for its good windsurfing conditions. From here a pedestrian and cycle path leads you all the way along the rocky coast to the fortress and wide sandy beach at Vila Praia de Ancora. Flanked by sand dunes, the beach extends from the fishing port to the Ancora river which reaches the coast here after its descent through the Serra de Arga hills. You stay at a family-run 4 star hotel in Vila Praia de Ancora tonight.
Distance: About 9.5 kms
Time: About 3 hours

Today’s walk is generally along the coast following a pedestrian/cycle path which ends at Praia do Norte in Viana do Castelo, although at times you’ll veer inland through patches of woodland, a small village and fields, returning at intervals to the shore. The scenery and terrain varies between rocky and sandy along the coast punctuated by stone windmills and fortresses, patches of forest, raised boardwalks over dunes and bushes, and country lanes through fields. At the end of the day’s walk, take time to stroll through the beautiful, historic centre of Viana do Castela, which is bursting with places of interest from Celtic ruins and the Santa Luiza Basilica to the costume museum and the Gil Eannes hospital ship. Your boutique hotel for tonight is in the historic centre and dates from 1509.
Distance: About 19 kms
Time: About 5.5 hours

The return journey from Viana do Castelo by train to Porto takes about 90 minutes. You should book your train to coincide with your onward flight, or ask us to book a stay in Porto for you at the end of the holiday.