Porto is the second city from which most pilgrims depart for Santiago de Compostela, just after Sárria, in Lugo, according to statistics from the cathedral’s pilgrim reception center.
The fact that Porto is a tourist destination par excellence contributes to this condition, which is inseparable from the presence of the Ryanair base since 2009, its historical links with Galicia and its proximity to Santiago de Compostela.
Porto and the Ways of Santiago are fashionable and the growing number of pilgrims goes far beyond the essence of the pilgrimage, dating back to the 9th century, with the accidental discovery of the tomb of the Apostle Saint James by a farmer.
In 2022, 40,896 pilgrims left Porto via the Portuguese (or Central) Way and via the Costa and in the first half of 2023 the second position remains safe with 22,263behind Sarria (50,587) and before Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (14,060).
To get an idea of Porto’s growing importance on the roads to Santiago, 10 years ago it got no further than sixth starting point, with just 8,859, behind Sárria (52,063), Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (26,570), León (10,742), Cebreiro (10,724) and Tui (9,395).
Sárria, a town of about 13,000 inhabitants, is the starting point chosen by many pilgrims, who have to walk at least 100 kilometers to receive the ‘Compostela’ (pilgrimage certificate), which is evidenced by the stamps on the credentials.
Tui, 120 kilometers from Santiago, comes third on the 2022 ‘stage’ (with 33,665 pilgrims), ahead of the French commune of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (27,953), starting point of the French Way, and Ferrol (22.915), one of the exits of the Caminho Inglês.
Valença, a border town in the district of Viana do Castelo, 105 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela, from which a kind of ‘little Portuguese path’ departs, appears next on the list.
This route, freely accessible and starting about four kilometers from Tui (Spain), is ideal for less experienced pilgrims, who can reach Compostela in five days, with stops in Redondela, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis and Padrón.
The capital of Asturias, Oviedo, the starting point of the Primitive Road, is also highlighted, as are the stages of the French Way of León, with its imposing Gothic cathedral, and Cebreiro, the first city in Galicia.
Along the French Way, several locations are chosen by pilgrims as starting points depending on the days available to reach Santiago or the intended mileage, such as Ponferrada, Roncesvales and Astorga
The number of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela has doubled in the last 10 years
The number of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago has doubled in the last decade, from 215,879 (2013) to 437,511 (2022), according to statistics from the Pilgrim Reception Center of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Porto is the second city from which most pilgrims depart.
The frequency of the trails has already recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused an 84% drop in the number of pilgrims, from 347,559 in 2019 to 54,144 in 2020. In 2021, the trails were traveled by 178,912 and in 2022 by 437,511.
The fact that the Holy Year celebrated in 2021 was exceptionally extended to 2022 due to “circumstances caused by the pandemic” contributed to this increase in the number of pilgrims on the trails.
The Jubilee Year of Compostela, also known as the Holy Year of James (Xacobeo), is celebrated when July 25, the Feast of Saint James, coincides with a Sunday, as happened in 2021, but will not happen again until 2027.
The French Way is preferred as it has been traveled by 226,447 pilgrims in 2022, followed by the Portuguese Way (93,048), the Portuguese Way of the Coast (30,520), the English Way (24,177), the Primitive Way (21,331) and the Northern Road (20.311). .
In the first half of this year, 177,609 pilgrims arrived in Santiago, about half of them in French (51.21%), with the Portuguese (21.59%) and Costa (11.3%) the next most wanted pilgrims became.
In just 10 years, the frequency of the Portuguese routes and the coastal routes, mainly traveled by Spaniards (36%), Portuguese (27%), Germans (9%), Italians (4%) and North Americans (2%) , quadrupling (327%), from 29,550 in 2013 to 124,168 in 2022.
Described as early as 1135 in the Codex Calistinus, a kind of medieval guide to the pilgrimage to Santiago, the French Way is the Jacobean route par excellence and the route from the Gallic lands is the one with the greatest historical tradition.
The Portuguese Way, also known as Central, runs from Lisbon, a total of 625 km to Santiago de Compostela, but due to the lack of hostels, most pilgrims choose to leave Porto (240 km) and Valença (120 km).
The Caminho Português da Costa (149 km), as its name implies, runs along the coast from Porto to Caminha, and from there to Santiago de Compostela, and became relevant from the 18th century and was used by coastal populations and pilgrims disembarking went into ports.
The Coastal Path is currently the third most traveled path by pilgrims, surpassing the English (starting in Ferrol or A Coruña), Primitive (San Xoán de Padrón or Burón) and Northern (Ribadeo or Santiago de Abres) in just over four years.
According to statistics from the last 10 years, before the Covid-19 pandemic, more than half of the pilgrims came from outside Spain, but in recent years the trend has reversed and the trails are mainly walked by Spaniards.
In the ‘top 5’ of countries with the highest number of pilgrims in 2022 on all routes, they rank first next to Spain, with 238,981, Italy (27,010), the United States (25,980), Germany (23,195) and Portugal ( 20.106).
The United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, Netherlands, Canada, Poland, South Korea, Colombia, Czech Republic and Argentina, Denmark, Belgium and Australia are the countries appearing in the following positions.
In the first half of 2023, the trend remains in the ‘top 5’, with Spain leading and the United States and Germany ahead of Italy. Portugal is fifth.
Source: DN
