A low stone wall, a few oaks and a flock of sheep that barely look up. This is how the day begins in the north-east of Portugal. The landscape is open and hilly, with quiet roads and little villages where the church bell is often the only sound you hear. It is a good 7 hours of walking, but the day is very doable: climbs and descents keep taking turns.
The highest point is almost 900 metres up. It can get properly windy there, even when it’s mild lower down. After that you drop gradually towards Bragança. The city announces itself with traffic and blocks of flats, but above the centre stand the old castle and the citadel. So grit your teeth for a bit, and then a coffee or a cold drink awaits you in the shade of the walls. Take your time over the last few kilometres, the city isn’t going anywhere.