Vitorino dos Piães

Vitorino dos Piães is a rural village in the municipality of Ponte de Lima, in the valley of the River Lima, part since 2013 of the civil parish of Navió e Vitorino dos Piães. Surrounded by vinho verde vineyards, chestnut groves and small granite farmsteads, it keeps the calm atmosphere of the Minho interior, with its parish church and the Boucinhas archaeological site —a hillfort attesting to the ancient settlement of these hills— as its main heritage. The Central Portuguese Way crosses it between Barcelos and Ponte de Lima, along a thoroughly rural stretch where services are scarce. Lying around 22 km from Barcelos, it has become a natural resting point for those who prefer to split the long stage to Ponte de Lima in two: here the pilgrim finds rural guesthouses, quintas with a pool and somewhere to recover before tackling the final stretch down to the Lima. Its quiet and its wine-growing surroundings make the stop a welcome respite in the middle of one of the most demanding days on the Portuguese Way.