The Camino Portugués: which itineraries Portugal has certified

What Portugal certifies

Portugal certifies itineraries of the Way of St James on its own territory, not pilgrims. Turismo de Portugal's certification page says Decreto-Lei n.º 51/2019, published on 17 April 2019, recognised the historic and cultural importance of the Caminho de Santiago itineraries in Portugal and set up both a certification procedure and a national coordinating body. Certification is something a managing entity asks for, itinerary by itinerary; the page says requests are submitted to Património Cultural, I.P., the national heritage institute, and that Turismo de Portugal sits on the commission that assesses them.[1]

As of 9 October 2026, Turismo de Portugal's pages list six certified itineraries, from the first, in the Alentejo and Ribatejo, to the Caminho de Torres, certified in June 2026.[8][1] The certification concerns the itinerary only; XTOUR does not describe here any document issued to pilgrims.

Who can apply, and who decides

The decree's managing entities are broad. Turismo de Portugal's page says any public entity can manage an itinerary, naming municipalities, intermunicipal communities and parishes, as can non-profit associations and foundations and religious or ecclesiastical organisations.[1] XTOUR's reading of the six pages is that five certifications went to regional tourism bodies and one to a federation, the Federação Portuguesa dos Caminhos de Santiago.[8][7][6][5][4][2]

The certification pages describe a Certification Commission of four members with technical competence in culture or tourism, and an Advisory Council that brings in the relevant parts of central and regional government, a representative of the Catholic Church and the pilgrims' associations. The criteria they list include the itinerary's authenticity, its uninterrupted character in territory and in time, responsible management, and the pilgrim's safety, comfort and experience. Certification is reviewed: the Alentejo e Ribatejo, Interior and Costa pages each record a renewal in 2025 and a management plan running to March 2027, October 2027 and February 2028 respectively.[5][4][2]

The six certified itineraries

The figures in the table are the managing bodies' certified extents as Turismo de Portugal publishes them. XTOUR has no route data for any itinerary and does not convert them into walking days.

The Caminho Central, certified in three parts

The Caminho Central has been certified region by region rather than as one itinerary. The first certification, which the Portuguese government announced as the first Caminho Português de Santiago to be certified, covers the Alentejo and Ribatejo. The government's news item is dated 15 March 2021; Turismo de Portugal's page says the certification was made by a joint portaria and links to Portaria n.º 120/2021 of 15 March, and gives the itinerary 435 km in 19 stages through 16 municipalities.[2][3] The Região Centro certification of July 2023 continues it northwards from Golegã, its page says, through a Golegã to Tomar stage, and runs to Albergaria-a-Velha.[6] The Porto e Norte certification of December 2023 runs from Oliveira de Azeméis to Valença, and its page describes the whole Caminho Central as beginning in Almodôvar, in the Alentejo, before crossing the Ribatejo and the Centro.[7]

Each part names its own heritage sections. The Região Centro page recognises the stretches from Atalaia to Asseiceira and from Casal do Pote/Casal das Bernardas to Tomar, the stretch from Rabaçal to Conímbriga, and the urban circuit of Coimbra.[6] The Porto e Norte page recognises historic sections in Porto, Barcelos and Ponte de Lima.[7] Those are recognitions of the itinerary's passage, not statements that the sites are on any single day's walk.

The coastal, interior and Torres ways

For the Caminho da Costa, Turismo de Portugal says it was certified in February 2022 under Portaria n.º 67/2022, on a request by the Porto and North regional tourism body, and runs 137.9 km in 9 stages from Porto to the Galician border at Valença.[5]

The Caminho Interior was the second certified. Its page says the Federação Portuguesa dos Caminhos de Santiago applied, that certification came in October 2021 under Portaria n.º 457/2021, and that it runs 214 km in 11 stages from Viseu to Chaves, crossing into Galicia at Vilarelho da Raia.[4]

The Caminho de Torres is the most recent certification. Turismo de Portugal says it was certified in June 2026 under Portaria n.º 257/2026/1, runs 180.49 km in 10 stages from Sernancelhe to Valença before continuing to Santiago de Compostela, and crosses 15 municipalities of the North, Guimarães and Braga among them. Its page says it passes through two World Heritage properties, the Alto Douro Wine Region and the Historic Centre of Guimarães, names Braga Cathedral and the collegiate church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira in Guimarães among the heritage on the way, and takes its name from the pilgrim Torres Villarroel.[8]

How each may be travelled also varies by page. The Costa, Interior and Região Centro pages say their itineraries can be followed on foot, by bicycle or on horseback; the Porto e Norte page mentions only walking; the Alentejo e Ribatejo and Torres pages do not say.[8][2][7][6][4][5]

Where the official pages differ

The pages were written at different times, and a few details do not line up. XTOUR records the differences and does not resolve them.

• When the Interior was renewed. Turismo de Portugal's news of 5 August 2025 says the Central Alentejo e Ribatejo, Costa and Interior certifications were renewed in the first half of 2025; the Interior's own page says its renewal came in July 2025.[4][9]
• The federation's name. The Interior page names its applicant as the Federação Portuguesa dos Caminhos de Santiago and, a few lines later, the body that reported for renewal as the Federação Portuguesa do Caminho de Santiago; the renewal news uses the second form.[9][4]
• Who sits on the commission. The certification pages describe four members with technical competence in culture or tourism; the renewal news describes the commission as made up of representatives of Turismo de Portugal and Património Cultural, I.P.[9][2] The two descriptions can both be true, but neither page names the members.

What XTOUR does not know

XTOUR has not read the text of Decreto-Lei n.º 51/2019 or of any of the six portarias; what is said here about them comes from Turismo de Portugal's pages. It has not read the Caminhos da Fé platform that Turismo de Portugal says carries the itineraries, and it does not know which further itineraries, if any, are under assessment. It publishes no stages, waymarking, accommodation, credential or safety information.

The certified ways pass through or begin in several places XTOUR covers: Porto, Coimbra, Tomar, Braga and Guimarães. Passing through a place is not being in it, and none of these destinations contains an itinerary. For the country as a whole, see the Portugal country page.