Partner
UIDPJ – União Internacional de Peregrinos Jacobeus
The pilgrim association from Porto, where most Portuguese Caminos begin: it runs the Oficina do Peregrino by the cathedral, open daily from 7 am, trains hospitaleiros and makes setting off from Porto safer.
The Caminos on the map
Caminos of this partner
Camino Portugués CentralThe Camino Portugués Central is the second most walked Camino in the world: 100,835 pilgrims arrived in Santiago along it in 2025. On the Camino Ninja map it starts at Lisbon Cathedral and measures 619.6 kilometers, but most people join in Porto, at kilometer 375.4, which still leaves 244.2 kilometers in 11 stages. Along the way lie the Templar town of Tomar, Coimbra with the tomb of the pilgrim queen Isabel, Barcelos and its rooster, the bridge of Ponte de Lima, the fortress of Valença, Pontevedra, and Padrón, where the Apostle's boat is said to have moored.Explore this Camino
Portuguese Coastal Way256.7 kilometres, 12 stages, start at Porto Cathedral: the Portuguese Coastal Way (Caminho Português da Costa) shares its first 6.3 km out of the city with the Central Portuguese Way, then passes Porto Airport through the hinterland to Vila do Conde and only sees the sea in Póvoa de Varzim — from there beaches, dunes and river mouths accompany the route via Esposende and Viana do Castelo to Caminha. There it leaves the coast, follows the Minho via Vila Nova de Cerveira to Valença and crosses the Ponte Internacional to Tui, where it joins the Central. To be honest: the ferry to A Guarda, Baiona and the Ría de Vigo belong to the Senda Litoral, not to this route.Explore this Camino
Senda LitoralThe Senda Litoral is the Camino from Porto that stays closest to the sea: from the cathedral it runs down the Douro to the Atlantic and then follows the coast on boardwalks, promenades and beach paths all the way to Caminha. There you cross the Miño by boat into Galicia and walk the rugged coastline via Oia, Baiona and Vigo to Redondela, where the Senda merges into the Camino Portugués Central. On the Camino Ninja map it measures 283.5 kilometers to Santiago in 13 stages, with 2,011 meters of ascent—and its highest point, of all places, right at the finish.Explore this Camino
Porto – BragaFrom the cathedral in Porto to Braga it is 61.6 kilometres in three stages: through the suburbs north of Porto, across the Romanesque Ponte de Lagoncinha to Trofa and Vila Nova de Famalicão, then over the Portela and down into the archbishop's city. The route is the historic approach of the Camino Portugués to Braga, but today it is a side route with a few hundred pilgrims a year, a lot of tarmac and no pilgrim hostel along the way. Its reward comes at the end: the oldest cathedral in Portugal, the stairway hill of Bom Jesus do Monte – and in Braga two more Ways of St. James to Santiago.Explore this Camino
Caminho da Geira e dos ArrieirosThe Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros runs 244.5 kilometers from Braga Cathedral to Santiago de Compostela. For the first few days it follows the Geira, the Roman Via Nova built around AD 80, through Peneda-Gerês National Park and over the Portela do Homem border pass. After that it crosses the border twice more, climbs to 1,033 meters on the Castro Laboreiro plateau, and follows the paths of the Arrieiros, the muleteers, through Ribeiro wine country and the Terra de Montes to Santiago. Eleven stages, 6,632 meters of climbing, recognized by the Church since 2019, and still one of the emptiest routes to the Apostle's tomb.Explore this Camino
Who stands behind the route
The União Internacional de Peregrinos Jacobeus (UIDPJ) is based where the Portuguese Way begins for most pilgrims: in Porto. Pilgrims have set out from here for Santiago since the Middle Ages, and today several Caminos start in the city – the Central Way inland, the Coastal Way and the Senda Litoral along the Atlantic, the Via Interior via Braga. The UIDPJ is a non-profit association with an international outlook; on 22 July 2025 the Diocese of Porto recognised it by episcopal decree as a private association of the faithful.
Its motto is “Honrar o Caminho” – honour the Way. The association sets out to promote, value and support the Camino routes, with special attention to the Caminho Português, while respecting every pilgrim's motivation, whether religious, cultural or entirely personal. Its aim is a pilgrimage that is “consciente, segura e enriquecedora”: mindful, safe and enriching. To that end it works with St James associations from Brazil to Canada, with Camino China, the Korean Camino association in Madrid, the Spanish association of Camino municipalities and Portuguese partners such as the Fundação Livraria Lello.
The association's routes
The UIDPJ is there for the routes that start in or pass through Porto – on Camino Ninja these are:
- Camino Portugués Central – the second most walked Camino in the world: 619.6 km from Lisbon, 244.2 km from Porto via Barcelos, Ponte de Lima and Tui to Santiago
- Caminho Português da Costa – 256.7 km from Porto Cathedral via Vila do Conde, Póvoa de Varzim and Viana do Castelo along the Atlantic coast to Santiago
- Senda Litoral – 283.5 km on boardwalks and beach paths as close to the sea as possible, from Porto via Caminha and Baiona to Redondela
- Porto – Braga – 61.6 km in three stages over the Romanesque Ponte de Lagoncinha and Vila Nova de Famalicão to the archiepiscopal city of Braga, the opening of the Via Interior
- Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros – 244.5 km from Braga Cathedral along the Roman Geira through Peneda-Gerês National Park and on the muleteers' paths to Santiago
On its website the association also presents the Caminhos to Fátima, which lead south from Porto to the Marian sanctuary.
What the association does for pilgrims
The heart of it is the Oficina do Peregrino do Porto, which the UIDPJ opened in April 2026 right next to the cathedral, at Rua da Pena Ventosa 38, in a building provided by the City of Porto. It opens every morning at 7 am – exactly when pilgrims set off. According to the association, that makes it “o único ponto estruturado de apoio ao peregrino disponível a essa hora na cidade”, the only established pilgrim support point open in the city at that hour. Here you get information on all routes from Porto, stamps and the pilgrim passport for €2 (as of October 2026), which you can also order online and have sent to you. In high season it is open Monday to Saturday 7 am–12:30 pm and 2:30–5 pm, Sundays 7 am–12:30 pm.
Safety matters especially to the association. With the voluntary pilgrim registration you report in two minutes that you are setting off from or passing through Porto; this allows the PSP police and the GNR national guard to keep a closer eye on pilgrims if needed, particularly those walking alone, older pilgrims and minors. The website lists the contacts of the GNR commands along the Portuguese routes and a direct emergency button for 112.
For the hostels, the UIDPJ trains hospitaleiros – in Portuguese, English and Spanish, in person and online; the fifth training round was held in September 2025. Volunteers then serve in the hostels of its network, welcoming pilgrims and helping with advice on stages and safety. And every year the association invites you to the backpack blessing (Bênção das Mochilas) at Clérigos Church, in 2026 on 11 July, open to everyone starting their Camino in Porto.
Contact and getting involved
Website: uidpj.com with routes, safety, events and volunteering · Pilgrim office: Oficina do Peregrino, Rua da Pena Ventosa 38, Porto; pilgrim passport and registration via oficinadoperegrino.com. Membership starts at €15 a year (as of October 2026), with priority for courses and workshops and the chance to join a hospitaleiro team. Volunteers are welcome – in the hostels, at the Oficina in Porto and in initiatives for the Portuguese routes.