GPX ViewPortugal
Rota Vicentina — Fishermen's Trail
The Trilho dos Pescadores hugs the Atlantic coast of south-west Portugal, on the paths fishermen once used to reach the coves.
Loading the map…
8 m · 0.0 km
Drag along the curve to read any point.
- Distance
- 217.3 km
- Elevation gain
- 2,028 m
- Elevation loss
- 2,035 m
- Highest point
- 155 m
- Walking time
- 59 h · ~10 d
Estimated walking time (DIN 33466 standard) — breaks, meals and overnight stays not included.
Tracks derived from OpenStreetMap data, under the ODbL license.
The terrain
Mostly sand, and that's what makes it hard: the trail runs along the cliff on paths where your foot sinks in, which tires far more than the modest elevation gain does. Descents to the coves and the climbs back up repeat all day. The Atlantic wind is nearly constant, often blowing head-on toward the south.
When to go
September to May. Summer is best avoided: no shade, scorching sand and beach crowds on the access points. Spring is the best season, when the heathland blooms and storks nest on the cliff rocks — a local quirk found nowhere else in Europe.
Access and stages
The trail links Porto Covo to Odeceixe, extended to Lagos by the Vicentine sections. Allow around ten days for the whole thing, less for the Alentejo stretch alone. Villages along the way are served by coach from Lisbon or Faro, which makes it easy to split into shorter trips.
Take the track into the field
The downloaded file opens in GPX View, which shows the route, the remaining elevation and your position on it — with no network once the map is saved.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this GPX free?
- Yes, no account or sign-up needed. The track is derived from OpenStreetMap and stays under the ODbL license: reusable, provided you credit the source.
- Why does the sand make walking hard?
- Because it absorbs each step: for the same effort, you cover noticeably less ground than on firm terrain. A twenty-kilometre day on this trail takes about as long as a twenty-five-kilometre one elsewhere — the point walkers most often underestimate.
- Is it safe to walk along the cliff edge?
- The trail comes close in places, over sandy, unstable ground. There's no railing and the edge crumbles: that's the one real precaution to take, along with the wind, which can throw you off balance.