Skip to content
Seis Caminos de Santiago Seis Caminosde Santiago

Get the app

The Seis Caminos de Santiago app

It installs from the browser itself, with no app store. It is small, and whatever you have opened stays available without coverage.

  1. Home
  2. The Routes
  3. Camino Portugués
  4. Stage 3

Stage 3 · Portugués de la Costa

Esposende → Viana do Castelo

225km km to Santiago
25,1 km Distance +260 m Ascent −250 m Descent 27,7 km Effort 8 h 42 Time needed · On foot

Inland to the Lima

Here the Coastal route turns away from the sea for the first time: 25.1 kilometres with 260 metres of ascent and 250 of descent, medium difficulty. You leave Esposende through Marinhas and the route heads inland, through Belinho and São Paio de Antas, among granite villages, cobbled lanes, pine woods and fields, with short climbs that break the flat habit of the previous days.

The middle section crosses the river Neiva by an old bridge and climbs to Castelo do Neiva, with its church of Santiago, one of the oldest dedications to the apostle in Portugal, and continues through Chafé and Anha in a to-and-fro of villages with bars for a stop. It is shady, stony ground, pleasant, with nothing hard about it.

The final descent leads to Darque, on the bank of the Lima, and you cross the river by the long iron bridge, the Ponte Eiffel, to enter Viana do Castelo. It is a city with everything, with a historic centre of squares and palaces and the sanctuary of Santa Luzia above it on the hill, which deserves a climb in the evening if your legs have anything left.

Tips

Fill your bottle in Esposende or Marinhas: the inland section has fountains, but bars only in the larger villages.

The cobbled lanes of Belinho and Castelo do Neiva are slippery in the rain: tread carefully on the descents.

The Eiffel bridge in Viana is long and shared with cars and trains: cross on the pavement and without hurrying.

You can go up to Santa Luzia on foot or by funicular; the view over the estuary is one of the best on the whole Camino.

Walk with me

It crosses where you are with the time, the daylight left, the water, the beds and the notice board. Three things at most: the ones that actually change your afternoon.

Create the free account It is free and forever. An account is needed for the guide to place you. I already have an account

It checks GPS every 6 min while you keep it open. GPS drains the battery: if yours is low, switch it off.

Your position is used to answer you and is not stored anywhere.

Profile and services

Elevation profile of the stage from Esposende to Viana do Castelo, 25.1 kilometres, with services placed at their kilometre point.

The elevation for this stage has not been loaded yet.

Esposende 25.1 km Viana do Castelo

The weather

15°C

Fog

Feels like
16 °C
Wind
5 km/h
Daylight
07:44 – 18:57
  1. Today 🌫️ 20° 14°
  2. Wed 🌫️ 24° 15°
  3. Thu ⛅ 22° 15°
  4. Fri 🌫️ 21° 14°
  5. Sat 🌫️ 22° 14°
  6. Sun ⛅ 21° 11° 4 %
  7. Mon 🌧️ 21° 11° 21 %

Data from Open-Meteo, refreshed every half hour.

What's there today

Nobody has reported anything on this stage.

Lost and found

Sign in to report it. It's free.

Tips from people who walked it

The things that do not expire: where the fountain actually is, which bar opens at six, where not to go in the rain.

None here yet. If you have just walked this stage, you know something tomorrow’s pilgrim does not.

Sign in to leave a tip. It is free.

Emergencies

Call 112

112 is the same number in Spain, in Portugal and across the European Union. It works with no credit, with no SIM, and over any operator's network, not just yours.

Say where you are I am walking the Camino Portugués, on the stage from Esposende to Viana do Castelo.

The map

Loading the map…

What to see on this stage 32

  1. Capela do Senhor dos Mareantes Church km 0,0
  2. Igreja Santa Maria dos Anjos Church km 0,2
  3. Capela de São João Church km 0,4
  4. Capela de São Sebastião Church km 4,1
  5. Capela Mortuária das Marinhas Church km 4,5
  6. Igreja Paroquial de Marinhas Church km 4,5
  7. Capela São João do Monte Church km 5,3
  8. Capela da Nossa Senhora das Neves Church km 5,9
  9. Iglesia Church km 8,3
  10. Capela de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios Church km 10,2
  11. Capela de Nossa Senhora dos Emigrantes Church km 12,1
  12. Capela de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe Church km 12,3
  13. Capela de Nossa Senhora das Mercês Church km 13,3
  14. Igreja Paroquial de Santiago Church km 13,4
  15. Senhora do Castro Church km 16,1
  16. Capela da Senhora do Crasto Church km 16,2
  17. Igreja de São Romão do Neiva Church km 16,3
  18. Iglesia Church km 16,9
  19. Igreja de Chafé Church km 17,8
  20. Igreja Matriz de Vila Nova de Anha Church km 20,2
  21. Capela de Santo António Church km 20,9
  22. Capela de São Lourenço Church km 24,3
  23. Igreja do Carmo Church km 25,0
  24. Igreja de S. Bento Church km 25,1
  25. Igreja das Almas Church km 25,2
  26. Capela das Malheiras Church km 25,4
  27. Capela de Nossa Senhora das Candeias Church km 25,6
  28. Catedral de Viana do Castelo Church km 25,7
  29. Igreja da Misericórdia Church km 25,8
  30. Igreja da Caridade Church km 25,8
  31. Capela da Senhora do Resgate Church km 25,8
  32. Iglesia Church km 25,8

What you will find 343