Ponte da Barca Hike

If it's not clear from the fact that we chose to live here, of all places: We like Northern Portugal. Porto is an amazing city, dare I say, almost perfect in terms of livability. If we get tired of living in a city one day, though, the region that surrounds Rio Lima would top our list of places to look into. Starting at Viana Do Castelo, all the way to Ponte da Barca, and then even further North from there, following Rio Vez, with towns like Arcos de Valdevez. This whole region is just immensely beautiful.

If you haven't been there, I highly recommend you visit it, and if you will visit it, I highly recommend you hike. This area is home to some of the best-maintained hiking trails in Portugal. They are also not very technical and can be done if you are reasonably mobile.

For this specific route, I used a map by João Marques Fernandes at Wikiloc. My initial plan was to park at Ponte da Barca, walk to Ponte de Lima, and take a taxi back. Halfway through, I changed my mind and decided to walk back, because I didn't want to risk not being able to find a taxi late on a Saturday. I am glad that I did, though. As the sun moved down towards the horizon, the lighting changed around the trail, and things looked even more beautiful.

Every part of this trail is beautiful, so feel free to do any section of it that you want, depending on how much time you have, or how much you want to walk. I would plan to spend some time at Ponte da Barca as well. It took me a while to move away from the namesake bridge and the immediate area that surrounds it. Even after coming home, I wanted to take a look at the photos again and again.

There are tons of shade along the trail, so it's a decent option for warmer days. I was there on a dry day, but I heard that it can get a little muddy after rainy days, so consider dressing appropriately. Other than that, it's a very easy and very quiet trail. Despite being there on a nice Saturday, I only came across a handful of other people.

Next time I will start at Ponte de Lima, walk to where I stopped this time, and then back. Normally I don't prefer out-and-back trails, but here, I could only appreciate seeing everything twice.