The Camino Portugués from Porto and from Tui: 246.4 km, 118.4 km, and the flattest route of the ten

By August Frederik Kramer, who has walked the Camino twice · Last updated 19 September 2026

Ask about the Camino Portugués and the answer begins at Porto or at Tui, hardly ever at Lisbon. We measure the whole Central route from Lisbon, 620.2 km in 31 stages, but the two figures people actually want are these. From Porto, counting from our stage end at Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank of the Douro, it is 246.4 km to the cathedral in 13 stages; from the city’s own centre, 243.2. From Tui, the first town in Spain, it is 118.4 km.

It is also the flattest of the ten routes on this site. Per kilometre walked it climbs 10.5 m, against 13.6 on the Camino Francés and 10.6 on the next flattest, the Camino Mozárabe; its high point is 466 m, where the Francés reaches 1,505. Of the 214 stages we measure across ten routes, the flattest of all is on this route, and of the steepest 21 it has 0.

From Porto: 246.4 km in 13 stages

Everyone publishes 240 or 260. Our track, the Central route rebuilt on the waymarked line, gives 246.4 km from Vila Nova de Gaia, the stage end on the far bank, and 243.2 km from the centre of Porto, whose node sits 521 m off the line. That is 13 of our 31 stages, averaging 19.0 km, and 3,176 m of climbing at 12.9 m per kilometre.

The half nobody walks is the flat half. Lisbon to Vila Nova de Gaia is 373.8 km and 18 stages at 8.9 m per kilometre, and its highest point is 466 m, which is also the route’s. Vila Nova de Gaia to Santiago is 40% of the distance and 49% of the climbing, at 12.9 m per kilometre. Start at Porto and you skip the flat and keep the hills, which is the opposite of what the map suggests.

The 31 stages, measured

Generated from the route itself rather than copied from a guidebook, and split where our stage planner picks: 31 days averaging 20.0 km, the first 18 of them in Portugal south of the Douro. The walk from Porto begins at day 19; the walk from Tui joins at Valença, the last stage end in Portugal, 122.3 km out.

The one hard day is day 24, Ponte de Lima to Agualonga: 15.5 km and 408 m, 26.3 m per kilometre, the only stage on the route that climbs 20 m or more per kilometre. Ranked against all 214 stages on this site it is number 23, with 22 stages steeper. At the other end, day 4, Azambuja to Porto de Muge, climbs 3 m in 16.8 km and is the flattest stage anywhere on the network. The longest day is Ansião to Condeixa-a-Nova, at 29.9 km, and the last day into Santiago, at 28.3 km, is close behind it. What descents do to feet, on a route with few of them, is in our guide to the ten worst descents.

From Tui: 118.4 km, and the line at O Porriño

Tui is the first town in Spain and the start most people choose for a Compostela on this route. Our measurement puts it 118.4 km from the cathedral, 6 stages on our plan from Valença across the river, with room to spare over the 100 km the Pilgrim’s Office wants.

The room runs out one stage later. From O Porriño it is 101.2 km, 1.2 km over the line, which on our measurement is the tightest qualifying start on any route into Santiago. From Redondela, the next town in, it is 85.4 km, and no certificate. A variant, a detour or a different line through the town moves O Porriño either way; if the certificate matters, Tui is the answer and O Porriño is the argument. Where the line falls on every other route is in our guide to the last 100 km.

The flattest route of the ten

Per kilometre walked, the Portugués climbs 10.5 m. Nothing on the site climbs less: the Camino Mozárabe is next at 10.6, and the Camino Francés climbs 13.6. Its high point is 466 m, and only 1 of its 31 stages climbs 20 m or more per kilometre.

Flat is not the same as easy, and this route is where the difference shows: the route page warns about the cobbles, which we cannot measure, and the last day into Santiago is 28.3 km, one of the longest on the plan. But by the number, it is the gentlest way to the cathedral there is. If you are choosing between routes rather than reading about this one, our comparison of all ten routes puts all ten side by side, and the Camino del Norte guide is the other end of this table.

Lisbon to Porto: the half nobody asks about

The first 18 stages run 373.8 km up the Tagus and across the Ribatejo before the hills around Tomar and Coimbra, and they climb 3,332 m between them: 8.9 m per kilometre, with the flattest stage on the whole network in the middle of them. Almost nobody walks it, and the searches say so; but it is measured, it is in the table above, and it is the reason the full route is 620.2 km rather than the 246.4 that most people mean when they say Camino Portugués.

What this page does not measure

The Coastal route. From Porto there are two waymarked ways north, the Central through Barcelos and Ponte de Lima and the Coastal through Vila do Conde and Viana do Castelo, and we hold a track for the Central only, so every figure on this page is the Central’s and none is the Coastal’s. The same goes for the Espiritual variant from Pontevedra and the boat to Padrón. Nothing here is about albergues, which change every season, or about the cobbles, which the route page mentions and we do not measure. What we publish is height and distance, along one line.

The full Camino Portugués route page: every stage, the elevation profile and the app

Common questions

How far is the Camino Portugués from Porto?

246.4 km from Vila Nova de Gaia, our stage end on the south bank, to the cathedral, in 13 stages; 243.2 km from the centre of Porto. It climbs 3,176 m on the way, 12.9 m per kilometre.

How far is it from Tui to Santiago?

118.4 km on our measurement, 6 stages from the border. It clears the 100 km the Compostela requires with margin; the next town, O Porriño, is 101.2 km and the tightest legal start on any route.

How many days does the Camino Portugués take from Porto?

13 walking days in our plan, averaging 19.0 km, with no rest day. From Lisbon it is 31.

Is the Camino Portugués flat?

It is the flattest of the ten routes we measure: 10.5 m of climbing per kilometre against 13.6 on the Francés, a high point of 466 m, and only one stage that climbs 20 m or more per kilometre (day 24, Ponte de Lima to Agualonga). The half from Porto is the hillier half, at 12.9.

Where do the last 100 km of the Camino Portugués start?

From Tui you have 118.4 km. The closest stage boundary that still clears 100 km is O Porriño at 101.2 km, 1.2 km over, the tightest on the network; Redondela at 85.4 km does not.

How long is the Camino Portugués from Lisbon?

620.2 km in 31 stages along our Central line, 373.8 of them before Porto. The Lisbon half climbs 8.9 m per kilometre and the Porto half 12.9.

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