In June 2019, we walked 160 km (100 miles) from Viana do Castelo on the northern Portuguese coast to Santiago de Compostela in Spanish Galicia. The latter part of that walk included a 43-km segment of trail known as the Variante Espiritual, or Spiritual Variant. 

We had considered adding this trail to our itinerary in 2018, based on its reputation as one of the most scenic portions of the entire Camino Portuguese. But since the Variant had been added to the “official” Camino routes only five years before, practical information was scarce and we continued on the main route, through Caldas de Reis. Yet, the question still nagged at us: had we missed out on something? Was there anything really distinctive about the Spiritual Variant?

The only way to know for sure was simply to place one foot in front of the other and have a look for ourselves.