ITINERARY – Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros grows in pilgrims and gets closer to approval

The Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros (CGA), which starts in Braga and passes through Amares and Terras de Bouro, until reaching Santiago de Compostela, is growing and is even the record holder for pilgrims among the “paths” that are candidates for approval .

It has «unique characteristics», one of which is the growing number of pilgrims, which position it as a favorite for officialization by the Regional Government of Galicia, among the eight “neo-paths” under study.

«The process for the officialization of the CGA is ongoing, integrated into the group of neocaminhos, which also includes seven other routes, some nearby and others spread across Galicia», explained Carlos de Barreira, President of the Codeseda Viva Association, during the Awards ceremony Abbess Mariana.

From his perspective, «the path, which crosses the center of A Estrada (and part of Braga), in addition to robust historical documentation, presents two distinct and decisive characteristics: it does not converge with any of the official paths, as it has its own direct access to Compostela and, since 2017, it has been visited by thousands of pilgrims».

The Codeseda Viva Association and other entities promoting the CGA «registered 4,236 pilgrims, a number that exceeds that of any other route candidate for officialization and, in fact, exceeds the sum of the other seven routes», highlighted Carlos de Barreira. Therefore, the association «believes that the CGA will soon be made official by the Government of Galicia».

In addition to this, two other itineraries under analysis begin in Portugal: the Caminho Minhoto Ribeiro and the Caminho de São Rosendo.

IT HAS 239 KILOMETERS

The Caminho da Geira extends for 239 kilometers, starts at Sé de Braga and crosses the municipalities of Amares, Terras de Bouro and Melgaço, entering Galicia via Portela do Homem. In the last seven years, it has been visited by more than 4,200 pilgrims, mainly from Portugal and Spain, but also from 13 other European countries, and from nations as diverse as Afghanistan, Aruba, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, China, Colombia , USA, Japan, Mexico, Palestine and Uruguay.

Presented in 2017 in Galicia and Braga, it was recognized by the Church in 2019 and in publications by the association of cross-border municipalities Eixo Atlântico (2020) and Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal (2021). The route stands out for including unique heritage sites in the world: Geira, the best preserved route of the ancient Western Roman Empire, and the Gerês-Xurés Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve. Furthermore, its route is one of the rare five that connect directly to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.