CaminantesThe Variante Espiritual, measured: what it costs to leave the Portugués
By August Frederik Kramer, who has walked the Camino twice · Last updated 25 September 2026
The Variante Espiritual leaves the Camino Portugués north of Pontevedra and rejoins it at Pontecesures, by way of the monastery at A Armenteira and the Ría de Arousa. Walked all the way it is 74.8 km with 871 m of climbing and a high point of 423 m. Taking the Traslatio boat from Vilanova de Arousa instead leaves 41.7 km on foot.
Everything written about this variant describes the monastery, the stone-and-water path and the boat. None of it says what the detour costs, which is the only question worth asking in Pontevedra. So here it is.
What it costs against staying on the Portugués
The direct line between the same two points, Pontevedra to Pontecesures on the Portugués, is 36.8 km with 362 m of climbing and a high point of 164 m. Walking the whole variant is 38.0 km further, 103% more, with 509 m more climbing: 2.4 times as much.
With the boat it is a different decision entirely. 41.7 km on foot against 36.8 km is 4.9 km more, and you get the monastery and the ría for it. That is the number nobody prints, and it is why the boat is not a shortcut so much as the whole point.
The four stages, measured
Cut at the towns the track actually passes rather than at a guidebook’s overnight stops. Climbing is measured over the same profile, sampled every 100 m, that the route pages use, so these figures and a route page’s figures are comparable.
| Day | Stage | Distance | Climb | Descent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pontevedra – A Armenteira | 17.5 km | 550 m | 283 m |
| 2 | A Armenteira – Vilanova de Arousa | 24.2 km | 141 m | 419 m |
| 3 | Vilanova de Arousa – Catoira | 16.5 km | 100 m | 70 m |
| 4 | Catoira – Pontecesures | 16.6 km | 79 m | 98 m |
The first day is the whole climb
Stage one, Pontevedra to A Armenteira, is 17.5 km and 550 m up. That is 63% of the variant’s entire climbing on 23% of its distance. Everything after A Armenteira is either the descent to Barrantes or flat ground along the water. If you are judging this variant by whether you can climb, you are judging one morning.
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The Traslatio, and why the distance still counts
The boat runs from Vilanova de Arousa up the Ría de Arousa and the Río Ulla to Pontecesures, and it is the only stretch of any Camino crossed by water. It replaces 33.1 km of the walking above, which is the stretch through Catoira on the east side of the ría.
We publish no timetable, fare or operator for it: those change every season and we cannot verify them from here. What matters for the Compostela is the distance you walked, and the boat is not walked. If the certificate is the point, count the 41.7 km and read the rules rather than a forum.
Where these figures come from
The line is OpenStreetMap relation 6,259,246, "Camiño Portugués Variante Espiritual", retrieved on 25 September 2026 and used under the ODbL. Its 362 ways form five chains joined at gaps of 18, 7, 17, 12 m where mappers had not shared a node; stitching those four joins is the only liberty taken with the geometry, and one 70 m closed stub at Ribadumia is left out. Heights are SRTM 30m sampled every 100 m, smoothed over five points, with climbs under three metres ignored. That is the same pipeline as the ten route pages, which is why the comparison above is honest.
the Camino Portugués route page
Common questions
Is the Variante Espiritual worth the extra distance?
With the boat, it costs 4.9 km more than the direct line, and that is a small price. On foot the whole way it costs 38.0 km and 509 m of extra climbing, which is a real decision rather than a detour. The figures are above; the monastery and the ría are a matter of taste.
How long does the Variante Espiritual take?
Our split is 4 stages: 17.5, then 24.2, 16.5 and 16.6 km. With the boat from Vilanova de Arousa the walking is 41.7 km, which is two long days or three comfortable ones. Walking the whole 74.8 km adds another two.
Does the Variante Espiritual count for the Compostela?
It is a recognised variant of the Portugués and its walked kilometres count. The boat does not, because the boat is not walking. Read the office’s own wording on the distance rule rather than a summary of it, ours included.
How hard is it?
The whole variant averages 11.6 m of climbing per kilometre against 9.8 m on the direct line, so on paper it is half again as steep. In practice it is one climb: 63% of the ascent is in the first 17.5 km, and the high point is only 423 m.
Keep reading
The credencial: 10 stamps from Sarria, and the rule everyone misquotes
"Two stamps a day" is not in the Pilgrim’s Office rules. What they ask for is a stamp at the start and the end of each stage, and only if you walk the minimum. On our split that is 10 stamping moments from Sarria, and 10 to 12 across the 7 routes that reach Santiago.
Which shoes for the Camino? The Francés descends 10,355 m
Every shoe guide for this walk is written about climbing. 20 of the Francés’s 36 stages descend more than they climb, and the biggest descent day comes 25 days after the biggest climb. Descent per kilometre for all ten routes, and not one brand name.
The Camino del Norte from Bilbao: 682.7 km, 33 stages, and flatter than the route
Six starting points on one measured track, from Irún to Ribadeo, with the climbing per kilometre from each. The first 148.9 km carry 27% of the route’s climbing on 18% of its distance, so where you start changes the walk more than the distance suggests.
Take it with you
Caminantes is free, works offline, and plans your stages around your own legs rather than a guidebook's.
