Portuguese Camino interior from South of Lisbon

[Grahammac]

Mycdaughter and I are planning to do 1 week walking the Portuguese Camino south of Lisbon. Interior route. Basically, finishing just south of Lisbon. Evora? Any advice?

 

[trecile]

Mycdaughter and I are planning to do 1 week walking the Portuguese Camino south of Lisbon. Interior route. Basically, finishing just south of Lisbon. Evora? Any advice?

@jungleboy might have infornation.
As far as I know the "Camino" starts in Lisbon, but there are probably other routes south of Lisbon.

 

[jungleboy]

Mycdaughter and I are planning to do 1 week walking the Portuguese Camino south of Lisbon. Interior route. Basically, finishing just south of Lisbon. Evora? Any advice?

Evora is east of Lisbon.

There are two Camino de Santiago routes in the south of Portugal: the Caminho Central (discussion thread with info here) and the Caminho Nascente (discussion thread with info here). The Central starts in Faro and ends in Santarém, taking you close to Lisbon, while the Nascente starts further east in Tavira but does go through Evora. The official site for both routes has a free downloadable guide for the stages of both caminos in the Alentejo, which is most of them.

A third option, while not a Camino de Santiago, is the Rota Vicentina, which has both an interior and a coastal route. The official site has all the info you need.

For the Caminho Nascente, this is my suggestion for one week:

Day 1: Beja to Cuba (~18km)
Day 2: Cuba to Alvito (~15km)
Day 3: Alvito to Viana do Alentejo (~12km)
Day 4: Viana do Alentejo to Évora (~36km - there was no way to break this up in 2021)
Day 5: Évora to São Miguel de Machede (~23km)
Day 6: São Miguel de Machede to Evoramonte (~25km)
Day 7: Evoramonte to Estremoz (~24km)

In my view this stretch contains the best the Alentejo has to offer - historically, culturally and scenically. Évora is well known and has a lot of attractions, and additionally Beja, Alvito, Viana do Alentejo, Evoramonte and Estremoz all have medieval castles. Cuba has an unusual local wine variety and is the centre of an alternative theory about the origin of Christopher Columbus (with an interpretation centre explaining this), while Estremoz has a fantastic new Portuguese tile (azulejo) museum. I also think the scenery around Evoramonte is the most beautiful on the camino in the Alentejo. Finally, there are two magical places to stay: the castle-pousada in Alvito and an expat-run hotel inside the outer castle in Evoramonte called ‘The Place’.

 

[Grahammac]

Thanks for the very clear info - just what I wanted.

Evora is east of Lisbon.

There are two Camino de Santiago routes in the south of Portugal: the Caminho Central (discussion thread with info here) and the Caminho Nascente (discussion thread with info here). The Central starts in Faro and ends in Santarém, taking you close to Lisbon, while the Nascente starts further east in Tavira but does go through Evora. The official site for both routes has a free downloadable guide for the stages of both caminos in the Alentejo, which is most of them.

A third option, while not a Camino de Santiago, is the Rota Vicentina, which has both an interior and a coastal route. The official site has all the info you need.

For the Caminho Nascente, this is my suggestion for one week:

Day 1: Beja to Cuba (~18km)
Day 2: Cuba to Alvito (~15km)
Day 3: Alvito to Viana do Alentejo (~12km)
Day 4: Viana do Alentejo to Évora (~36km - there was no way to break this up in 2021)
Day 5: Évora to São Miguel de Machede (~23km)
Day 6: São Miguel de Machede to Evoramonte (~25km)
Day 7: Evoramonte to Estremoz (~24km)

In my view this stretch contains the best the Alentejo has to offer - historically, culturally and scenically. Évora is well known and has a lot of attractions, and additionally Beja, Alvito, Viana do Alentejo, Evoramonte and Estremoz all have medieval castles. Cuba has an unusual local wine variety and is the centre of an alternative theory about the origin of Christopher Columbus (with an interpretation centre explaining this), while Estremoz has a fantastic new Portuguese tile (azulejo) museum. I also think the scenery around Evoramonte is the most beautiful on the camino in the Alentejo. Finally, there are two magical places to stay: the castle-pousada in Alvito and an expat-run hotel inside the outer castle in Evoramonte called ‘The Place’.

Huge thanks for all the replies. Just what I wanted, and it has increased my interest and determination.

 

[dougfitz]

When I walked the Caminho do Tejo this year, i planned to break the stage from Azambuja to Santarem into two by crossing the river and catching the bus in from Muge, then walking in the next day from Muge. Like all plans, it didn't quite work that way, and I was able to catch a combination of bus and train from Porto de Muge to Santarem. The next day I caught the bus back to Muge, and walked in from there along what I suspect is the Central route. The waymarking was excellent, and it wasn't difficult to follow the path through the fertile river plain. The one downside was crossing the Rio Tejo on the Ponte Dom Luis 1, just over a kilometre of walking on a narrow pedestrian walkway without any barrier between that and the traffic lanes!

 

[Grahammac]

When I walked the Caminho do Tejo this year, planned to break the stage from Azambuja to Santarem into two by crossing the river and catching the bus in from Muge, then walking in the next day from Muge. Like all plans, it didn't quite work that way, and I was able to catch a combination of bus and train from Porto de Muge to Santarem. The next day I caught the bus back to Muge, and walked in from there along what I suspect is the Central route. The waymarking was excellent, and it wasn't difficult to follow the path through the fertile river plain. The one downside was crossing the Rio Tejo on the Ponte Dom Luis 1, just over a kilometre of walking on a narrow pedestrian walkway without any barrier between that and the traffic lanes!

Thanks jungleboy. In 2024, I may continue from where we stop (Evora?) all the way to Compostela. I am not attracted by the coastal route, but am also wary of adequate stop facilities using the interior routes.

 

[The Yukon]

Evora is east of Lisbon.

There are two Camino de Santiago routes in the south of Portugal: the Caminho Central (discussion thread with info here) and the Caminho Nascente (discussion thread with info here). The Central starts in Faro and ends in Santarém, taking you close to Lisbon, while the Nascente starts further east in Tavira but does go through Evora. The official site for both routes has a free downloadable guide for the stages of both caminos in the Alentejo, which is most of them.

A third option, while not a Camino de Santiago, is the Rota Vicentina, which has both an interior and a coastal route. The official site has all the info you need.

For the Caminho Nascente, this is my suggestion for one week:

Day 1: Beja to Cuba (~18km)
Day 2: Cuba to Alvito (~15km)
Day 3: Alvito to Viana do Alentejo (~12km)
Day 4: Viana do Alentejo to Évora (~36km - there was no way to break this up in 2021)
Day 5: Évora to São Miguel de Machede (~23km)
Day 6: São Miguel de Machede to Evoramonte (~25km)
Day 7: Evoramonte to Estremoz (~24km)

In my view this stretch contains the best the Alentejo has to offer - historically, culturally and scenically. Évora is well known and has a lot of attractions, and additionally Beja, Alvito, Viana do Alentejo, Evoramonte and Estremoz all have medieval castles. Cuba has an unusual local wine variety and is the centre of an alternative theory about the origin of Christopher Columbus (with an interpretation centre explaining this), while Estremoz has a fantastic new Portuguese tile (azulejo) museum. I also think the scenery around Evoramonte is the most beautiful on the camino in the Alentejo. Finally, there are two magical places to stay: the castle-pousada in Alvito and an expat-run hotel inside the outer castle in Evoramonte called ‘The Place’.

Excellent info! Would places be open along the Nascente this December?

 

[jungleboy]

Excellent info! Would places be open along the Nascente this December?

At a guess, in general I would say yes, because the kinds of places/towns you stay in aren't primarily catering to seasonal visitors (e.g. pilgrims, beach-goers) and therefore might still be open in winter.

That said, accommodation can be tricky on the Nascente, especially in the first week or so before Beja. Sometimes, there are no 'traditional' accommodation options and instead you need to call the local parish council and they will arrange something for you.

 

[Gemwalking]

Evora is east of Lisbon.

There are two Camino de Santiago routes in the south of Portugal: the Caminho Central (discussion thread with info here) and the Caminho Nascente (discussion thread with info here). The Central starts in Faro and ends in Santarém, taking you close to Lisbon, while the Nascente starts further east in Tavira but does go through Evora. The official site for both routes has a free downloadable guide for the stages of both caminos in the Alentejo, which is most of them.

A third option, while not a Camino de Santiago, is the Rota Vicentina, which has both an interior and a coastal route. The official site has all the info you need.

For the Caminho Nascente, this is my suggestion for one week:

Day 1: Beja to Cuba (~18km)
Day 2: Cuba to Alvito (~15km)
Day 3: Alvito to Viana do Alentejo (~12km)
Day 4: Viana do Alentejo to Évora (~36km - there was no way to break this up in 2021)
Day 5: Évora to São Miguel de Machede (~23km)
Day 6: São Miguel de Machede to Evoramonte (~25km)
Day 7: Evoramonte to Estremoz (~24km)

In my view this stretch contains the best the Alentejo has to offer - historically, culturally and scenically. Évora is well known and has a lot of attractions, and additionally Beja, Alvito, Viana do Alentejo, Evoramonte and Estremoz all have medieval castles. Cuba has an unusual local wine variety and is the centre of an alternative theory about the origin of Christopher Columbus (with an interpretation centre explaining this), while Estremoz has a fantastic new Portuguese tile (azulejo) museum. I also think the scenery around Evoramonte is the most beautiful on the camino in the Alentejo. Finally, there are two magical places to stay: the castle-pousada in Alvito and an expat-run hotel inside the outer castle in Evoramonte called ‘The Place’.

Olá, We are in Evora tonight and plan to walk to Saõ Miguel De Machede tomorrow. Unfortunately we are unable to find accommodation there. Any suggestions? Por favor/Obrigada

 

[jungleboy]

In São Miguel there is a local woman named Joana who has built a donativo annex for pilgrims in her backyard. If you contact the junta de freguesia they will put you in touch with her.