The magical of Portugal is on your holiday radar and you love to explore new places on foot. You’re in for a treat walking in the Douro Valley, often traversing land often owned by the region’s famous wineries.  This is one of Portugal’s most picturesque regions, famed for its dramatic terraced vineyards, eye-popping river landscapes, and ancient wine estates. Here’s what you can see on foot.

Simple, short walking routes in the Duoro Valley

 There are plenty of short walking routes throughout the valley, often marked with special yellow and red striped signs attached to rocks, fence posts, and even trees. You can walk village-to-village along them, discovering local colour and becoming intimately familiar with the landscape along the way.

If you just fancy a short walk through the famous vineyards, some wine estates have tourist maps of the trails on their land. You should also be able to find some great guided walks around cool places like Ervedosa do Douro, Pinhão, and Provosende.

The following walks are more demanding, each one a mini-adventure, with the off-river walks offering dramatic climbs and descents.

Walk alongside the river between Régua and Pinhão

Are you an experienced walker? If you want to enjoy a relatively easygoing but long distance adventure along the Douro River, make your way to scenic Peso da Régua and walk to Pinhão. The distance is around 15.5 miles and you follow the mighty river downstream all the way, making your way through beautiful vineyards and tiny scattered villages.

Because the walk follows the same route as the train, you can ride back in comfort and style. There are ten or so trains per day running between Porto and Régua, five of which carry on to Pinhão. Try to catch a special MiraDouro train if you can, with classic vintage carriages built by the Swiss firm Schindler in the 1940s, recently restored. The train’s brilliant panoramic windows open unusually wide for gusts of fragrant fresh air. You can check out the times of these special trains here. There are places to stay overnight if you’d like to stay in town to explore. 

Walk from Quinta do Crasto to Quinta do Bomfim

Take in two world-class Duoro Valley wine estates on this walk. Walking from one to the other is quite an adventure, with stunning views of the river and hills along the way. Co-ordinate your hike with wine tasting opportunities or make a meal of it if you like. You can eat at the vineyard and there are some lovely restaurants within a few miles of the Quinta do Crasto estate, including Bistro Terrace and Casa-dos-Peixinhos.

Quinta do Crasto itself is magnificent, nestled high up between Regua and Pinhaos. The site dates back to Roman times and this beautifully maintained estate overlooks a stunning landscape of wine terraces, olive plantations, and the mighty Douro River. Home to Dow’s Port, a fine tipple if there ever was one, the Quinta do Bomfim was bought by George Warre for Dow’s in 1896. Since then many generations of Symington winemakers have tended the vineyards. Ideally located between two different climates, temperate and Mediterranean, the sparkling schist vineyards have been the source of excellent port for more than 100 years. You can eat at the vineyard itself or nearby at places like Caso Do Arco and Writer’s Place.

Walk from Vila Real to São Leonardo da Galafura

A perfect walk for semi-experienced hikers, this one is an 8 mile delight, and a challenging hike thanks to the tough terrain. The panoramic views from São Leonardo da Galafura alone make it well worth the effort, with the massive Duoro River and Rio Ceira sparkling in the sunshine and numerous pale, dusty roads winding far below, all surrounded by terraced vineyards, green hills and olive groves.

Vila Real is the capital of the district of the same name, also the official seat of the Douro inter-municipal community. It’s a quiet university town set in a tranquil rural area above the place where two rivers, the Rio Cabril and the Rio Corgo, meet. Here’s where you can enjoy a vintage car tour of the town, a lovely way to discover the vibe.  

São Leonardo da Galafuranis, at the end of your hike, is the area’s finest viewpoint, 640m above sea level with a lovely old chapel at the top and picnic tables to relax, eat and drink at. The Portuguese writer Miguel Torga loved this place, and you can see some of his work immortalised on stone plaques at the site.

Pinhão to São João de Pesqueira

We’ll end out walker’s tour of the Duoro valley with another delightfulroute along the river. This time you kick things off in scenic Pinhão. Your destination is São João de Pesqueira, the so-called ‘wine village’, and it’s also a charming place. The Museu de Eduardo Tavares and the Museu de Vinho are on your radar here if you fancy taking in some local culture – and of course there are plenty of places to chill out with a glass or bottle of great local wine.  

 The route covers 12 miles of heavenly riverbank countryside, and there are plenty of places to stay the night if you want to walk back the next day, taking in the river views in the opposite direction. You can also pick up a boat cruise from São João de Pesqueira to Regua.

Tips for walking in the Duoro valley region

The holiday season is hot in the Duoro Valley, so bring water and snacks to keep you going along the way. You’ll appreciate good walking shoes. It’s wise to plan the return journey before you set off, although you can always grab a local cab to take you back to your starting point or stay overnight.