Enjoy Portugal’s new walking feat

American writer, New York Times journalist, and naturalist Hal Borland is reported as saying: “All walking is discovery. On foot we take the time to see things whole.” If you’d like to see, pretty much, the whole of Portugal, you’ll be delighted to learn, as I did recently, that plans are afoot (sorry) to create the “largest circular pedestrian route in the world”, right here in the land I love.

Apparently, the furthest drive without the use of ferries or trains is from Portugal’s very own Sagres to Talon in eastern Russia. And, as I found out from Good Morning Portugal! monthly correspondent Ana ‘Savvy Cat’ Caramujo, Portugal’s N2 (AKA the Estrada Nacional 2 or ‘Portugal’s Route 66’) is one of only three national car journeys in the world that runs from North to South, in our case connecting Chaves to Faro over 739 kilometres (453 miles).

“I think it’s a very interesting experience because you literally get to see all of the Portuguese landscapes,” Ana told me on her most recent visit to our breakfast show, having made “an effort to do all the typical cultural stuff and eat the local foods”.

She went on to describe it as a “course on Portugal”. And what a beautiful and interactive way to learn about our country, where “you start in the north, in Chaves, and then you go down the Trás-os-Montes region … then the River Tejo … Alentejo, and then Algarve, seeing everything along the way. It’s very beautiful and the city that I was the most impressed with was Viseu,” says Ana, who also loved seeing our iconic Douro vineyards en route.

She also showed me proudly her N2 ‘passport’, which is easily purchased at the beginning, and in which Portugal-loving adventurers can collect official ‘stamps’ from subsequent tourist offices along the way.

Returning to your prospects as a wide-eyed Portugal-based perambulator or pedestrian, where we started this week, I want to share an idea that garnered international attention when its originators shared their intention to create a 1,800-mile route that plots a course around the country, with its origins not far from me – in delightfully historic Alcobaça – a part of the ‘Palmilhar Portugal’ project, which until very recently was shockingly unknown to me.

Now, it’s not unusual to have great places and ideas remain a complete secret in Portugal, even right on your doorstep. For better or worse, Portugal is not really big into marketing, where I would say the attitude to promotion is: “If you need to know about it, you’ll know about it.” And this fabulous idea is no exception, developing as it is, and has been, just up the road, in a most modest and quiet way, at least to me.

Clearly, you can’t keep a good idea a secret forever, and I am so pleased to have made its acquaintance, even if it did take the publications and websites of other distant lands, including The Times, Time Out and CNN Brasil – clearly inspired and excited by the idea – to bring it to my attention, whilst living in the same district as its founders!

Palmilhar Portugal
Photo: PALMILHAR PORTUGAL/FACEBOOK

One of them, Ricardo Bernardes, described as the ‘mentor of the initiative’, told Lusa news agency, and whilst we’re talking about one of Portugal’s 308 municipalities (concelhos), that this will be “the creation of a circular route that crosses between 90 to 100 municipalities, creating a 360-degree trail, with over 3,000 kilometres.”

Taking in, quite rightly, this country’s magnificent yet characteristically modestly treated coastline as well as its borders, north to south, this superbly epic and brilliantly informative project has as its keywords nature, adventure, sports, health and well-being, as it attempts to mitigate the currently seasonal nature of tourism here, where visitor stays can be short and confined to just a few of each year’s months.

Officially put, the invitation is to “come discover and truly experience Portugal”, where “we have an active role in territorial cohesion and in mitigating tourist seasonality, we promote the sustainability of the territory, its natural riches, its heritage, history, customs and traditions.”

They had me at discover and experience, and every other aspect of this far-reaching, foot-based first is delicious, sweet icing on the rich cake of this land that I cherish as my home and future. Promising “activities for everyone on national trails”, the project leaders say: “Our proposal is not only to build the largest circular pedestrian route in the world; we want to go further. We will constantly organise, along the pedestrian route, a series of activities that will boost the municipalities involved, with a direct and extremely positive impact on the economies of each region.”

“Where do I sign up, how can I help, and when does it all begin?” is my response.

Now you may prefer the sound of the earlier mentioned Route 66, where if you are a North American, you might be conditioned for car travel over all others. If that’s the case, I understand and wish you well. That said, I also implore you to consider other means of transport when visiting or moving to Portugal.

Whether it’s buses, trains or inner-city metro systems that many I know have tried on arrival, it’s my pleasure to say they are surprised and often delighted by the safety, cleanliness and value that Portuguese public transport has to offer. Some even convert for good, eschewing the personally-owned motor car, in favour of a hybrid approach that includes public systems and the use of a hire or rental car, when going off the beaten track.

I realise resorting to the use of one’s own feet, or ‘Shanks’s Pony’ as we say in England, takes things to a whole new and possibly more arduous level, but I can almost certainly guarantee that your effort will be rewarded. “After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value,” said British historian and sage G.M. Trevelyan, whose words might help as you consider Portugal by foot.

For those challenged with mobility issues, the team behind this grand venture are thinking hard about accessibility and inclusion. “Palmilhar Portugal is mobility accessible!” they say proudly. “The desire for everyone to have this experience is real. There is great care to provide, whenever possible, for everyone’s safety and well-being.”

I like the way they are thinking, and am impressed by the scale of their ambition, which is estimated to cost €3.5 million. The beauty of Portugal’s natural environment will be augmented by the latest technology too, as the project “will have one of the most complete apps on the market.”

“From your phone, you can have access to the entire trail. As you travel around the country, you will receive notifications with information about the next location, tailored to each user,” says Palmilhar Portugal.

“The idea came to me while I was walking along a trail and wondered, what if this trail went round the whole country and returned to this same point without interruption?” says founder Ricardo, whose plan has been shared with authorities across the land, with the hope it will be in use within three years.

“Above all, it will redistribute tourism to parts of Portugal that are currently little known,” he adds, which to me can only be a good thing.

Perhaps, dear reader, our paths will literally cross out there in this new circle of life, real life in the Portuguese terrain, where outdoor philosopher John Muir assures us: “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”

From my own time in the Portuguese countryside, I know he is right. And I hope to see you there.

By Carl Munson

Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!

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Carl Munson
Carl Munson

Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!

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