CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 343 km round trip from Lamego - roughly 5 h 55 in the saddle. It goes by way of Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo, Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga, back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo and back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 97 km this is Douro Valley N222, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
The Douro river has been carving a gorge through the north of Portugal for millions of years, and for about two thousand years people have been planting vines on its slopes. The terraces, held up by stone walls, climb steeply from the water and rise through schist and slate in rows, and the effect, in the right season, is of a vast green staircase. The Alto Douro was the first wine region in the world to be officially demarcated, by the Marquis of Pombal in 1756, and UNESCO listed it in 2001. Port wine, the sweet fortified red that made the region famous, is still made here.
Read the complete Alto Douro Wine Region write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Alto Douro Wine Region is where the day begins. Next is Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo.
Aqui nasceu Portugal, says the slogan painted on an old section of the town wall: Portugal was born here. Guimarães claims to be the cradle of the nation because Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, is said to have been born here, and in 1128 he won the battle of São Mamede nearby, against his mother's forces, a key step towards independence. The castle on the hill, a compact fortress with a tall keep, and the small Romanesque church beside it, where he is said to have been baptised, are the symbols of that story.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo comes up about 97 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga.
There are 577 steps up to Bom Jesus do Monte, and a good many pilgrims still climb them on their knees. The sanctuary hangs on a wooded hillside above Braga, in the green Minho of northern Portugal, and what makes it extraordinary is the staircase. It zigzags up the slope in a series of baroque landings, each with its own fountain, chapel or statues, and each telling a different part of the story, from the five senses to the three virtues. Work began in the early eighteenth century and went on for decades, and the white church at the top, with its twin towers, was finished later, in neoclassical style. UNESCO listed the whole ensemble in 2019.
Read the complete Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 118 km into the recorded legs you reach Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo, about halfway.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga sits at 134 km, about halfway. Next is back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo comes up about 197 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 218 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga. Next is back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo, late in the day. Next is Alto Douro Wine Region.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alto Douro Wine Region write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 343 km.
Alto Douro Wine Region → Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo → Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga → Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga → back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo → back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga → back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo → Alto Douro Wine Region is 96 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.