Caminhos do Bom Sucesso

We begin the route next to the monument dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima and head toward Casais. Next to the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, we turn left, and a few meters ahead, on our left, we’ll find an old fountain and an 18th-century wayside cross with a niche dedicated to St. Anthony. Here we can take a 145-meter detour to visit the old elementary school. We return to the niche of Saint Anthony, turn left, and head downhill toward Ribeira de Ludares. After walking 1 km, next to Quinta das Belgas, we turn left and head uphill toward Casais.

We pass by the Chapel of Our Lady of the Annunciation and reach the CM 1467. We turn right, walk about 100 meters, and then turn left toward Castro do Bom Sucesso. We pass by the Casais soccer field and climb the Serra do Bom Sucesso. Once at the top, we turn left and continue straight ahead. We can take a detour to the Castro and Chapel of Bom Sucesso. We return to the previous path and continue down the mountain for about 2.2 km toward the village of Fresta. The view from here is breathtaking, both to the north and to the south. Upon reaching the São João soccer field, we turn right toward Pinheiro de Tavares; we pass two small shrines before reaching the village. Here, we’ll take a 50-meter detour to visit the Chapel of St. Vincent. We return to the original path and climb 500 meters toward CM 1467. We cross the road and descend 1.7 km until we reach the tiny village of Avinhó. There, among the rustic houses, we can see a small chapel and, a few meters away, the fountain that supplies the village. We continue straight ahead, and 100 meters further, next to a wayside shrine, we turn right. After 1 km, we come upon the village of São João once again. We walk 150 meters and catch a glimpse of the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, which is already familiar to us, and further ahead, the Monument to Our Lady of Fátima, where we began our journey.