Last summer, our expectations were high... After all, this was a trail that had been closed for some time and would reopen to the public in September.
The “Camino de Hierro”. Or in translation, the “Iron Trail”. This is a section that connects La Fregeneda station to the Vega Terrón pier, in the borderlands of the municipality of Salamanca, in Spain. This section is just a small part (17 km) of a total of 77 km that has the Spanish branch of the so-called “Douro Line”. This trail is located in the heart of the Arribas do Douro Natural Park and follows the Águeda River to its mouth, in the middle of the Douro River.
The line starts at La Fuente de San Esteban, where it joins the Medina del Campo-Salamanca-Fuentes de Oñoro line. In the border town of Barca d'Alva, the line connects to the Portuguese section that runs towards Porto. In this way, the second largest Portuguese city was linked to Salamanca and, by extension, to the French line that reaches Medina del Campo.
Challenged by my cousin, we registered as participants in a walk a few weeks in advance. There is great care on the part of the Spanish authorities who manage this trail in limiting the number of people who walk it at any given time. Because it has unique fauna and flora, as well as precious material and cultural heritage.
The walk was scheduled for a Sunday in September, starting at 8 am Spanish time. Therefore, we tried to book accommodation for Saturday night in La Fregeneda, so that we could be well slept and rested the next morning. Yes, we were expected to walk 17 km in approximately 6 hours…
We left Saturday morning, in a car with a group of five, aiming to arrive at the accommodation, in La Fregeneda, in the early afternoon.

As good Portuguese in Spain, of course we took a break on the trip, for lunch at a restaurant in one of the small villages we found along the way.
Mission accomplished: various 'tapas' and energy accumulation until the next day.

As we approached the border, the sky became increasingly 'closed'.
The forecast for the next day, the day of the walk, pointed to showers, which left us on alert. But, as we saw later, we took the necessary and sufficient basic equipment.
Sunday dawn started early: around 6:30 in the morning, Spanish time. The starting point of the trail wasn't far, but it was necessary to have a good breakfast, food and drink in everyone's backpacks and one last inspection to the equipment before we hit the road.
The sun was not yet visible on the horizon, but it was already clear that the sky was very cloudy. We drove for about 2 to 3 km on a paved road and then we left it, entering a dirt road, following the indications given by the signs along the way.
The day still presented itself in that morning twilight, where we can glimpse what is around us, but still requires the car's headlights on. We were driving at 30/40 km per hour, taking care to avoid some rocks along the way, when, upon exiting a curve on this winding and tight path, we saw two small lights in the middle of the dirt road, pointed at us. It took us one to two seconds to realize what it was...
"Look! A wild boar!"... The animal took the same amount of time as we did to realize what was in front of us, but when it did, it quickly ran off the road and quickly disappeared into the tall, abundant vegetation that lined the road of land. That unexpected meeting promised good things for the journey…
A little further on we come across the start of the trail: La Fregeneda train station. Here we had a team of guides waiting for us, who welcomed us kindly and gave us reflective vests and a pocket torch for those who didn't come prepared.


They also warned us about what we would find: along the trail we had to cross 20 tunnels - the largest of which is almost 1,600 meters long - and 10 dizzying metal bridges, some of them built by engineers from Gustavo Eiffel's school.
As this is an extensive linear route, at the end of it we would have a guide with a 9-seat vehicle waiting for us, to transport us back to La Fregeneda station and to our car. They planned to make 3 round trips to transport all the hikers (just over 20).
Along the route, these guides would appear punctually (accessing the trail via shortcuts known only to them) to provide us with greater security and take care of finding out if anyone might need any type of support.

We also received a strong recommendation: in the tunnels to be crossed, especially the 1st and 3rd, we should not stay inside them for too long, nor should we point our flashlights upwards. Because there was a high probability of this being resting hours to the colony of bats, nocturnal animals.
After the initial talk from the guides, and after taking the usual photos, we set off on our way!
Take notice in one of the images above, the special adaptation they made to a vehicle: placing a device at the front and back that allows them to drive it on the railway tracks and, thus, travel the trail in easier and more efficient conditions. quickly, if necessary.
Around Km 1 we come across Tunnel 1: La Carretera. The longest of all, more than 1.5 km long, it gave us a good first impression of what was to come…
The walk through this first tunnel was carried out in silence, only hearing the walkers' footsteps on the stones, the rails and the boards that connect them.


At km 2 we find the first bridge of the trail: the Pingallo Bridge. Measuring 11 meters long, it is located 4 meters above the Pingallo River, which flows into the Águeda River.
19 more bridges await us along the trail...
Even at the beginning of this adventure, we quickly realized that the trail, although it does not present a strong slope or complex obstacles, the truth is that it presents us with a route of kilometers over hard, rough and sharp rocks, which are liable to slip if your foot is placed incorrectly.
We realized that it would be necessary to pay constant attention to the floor, to the spaces where we can place our feet while walking, although we must always look around and ahead to enjoy the beautiful landscape.

The first sunbeams appear behind the hills. The landscape will quickly change color and tones. The sky has some clouds on the horizon, but you can see that the sun will have the opportunity to shine on the trail we are walking.


The view over the Águeda River is magnificent. The trail follows its serpentine direction towards the Douro river.

The mixed metal and wooden structures that connect the mountain slopes, cutting paths and smoothing the path of trains from the past, are now visited by us.
Even though we are excited and amazed by the landscape that unfolds around us, we always take great care with where we set foot. It's certainly not the best trail for those who suffer from vertigo…


Along the trail we came across several ruined buildings. One here... another there... traces of the importance that this section of railway once had, where the trains that ran along connected villages, towns and cities in a historically isolated region of the border.


We arrived at Tunnel 2: Las Majadas, with a length of 33 meters.


Tunnel 3: Morgado, measuring 423 m, is the most 'special' tunnel of all. It is home to a colony of around 12,000 bats, one of the most numerous in the entire Iberian Peninsula.

It is such a precious place in fauna and ecology, therefore very respected and preserved. For this reason, at the beginning of summer, during the breeding season, the tunnel remains closed and hikers must use an alternative path, marked and authorized for this purpose.
Likewise, you should always point your flashlights at the ground to avoid disturbing the bats. It is also a curved tunnel that allows the railway to head towards Portugal without losing sight of the course of the Águeda River.
We walked through it with deep respect for its inhabitants: in silence, without stopping, pointing our flashlights at the ground. As we approached the place where most of the colony is concentrated, the sound made by the thousands of bats... was impressive.
Pay attention to this video and the sound captured after the 26th second:
An important note for anyone wanting to walk this trail during this year: in 2024, Tunnel 3 will be closed to the public from March 16th to August 15th, to protect the numerous bat colony. Hikers will have to take an alternative route that goes around this tunnel.
And leaving this charismatic tunnel behind, we go through other tunnels…
We went through Tunnel 4: Poyo Rubio, 84 meters long. And also Tunnel 5: La Belleza, 76 meters long, Tunnel 6: Poyo Valiente, 358 meters long, Tunnel 7: El Pico, 46 meters long and Tunnel 8: Cega Verde, 86 meters long.
And the beauty of this trail never stopped surprising us. Take a look:

The rails that bring us and take us... that take us and bring us... To meet something or someone?... Or to receive something and someone who comes to meet us?…



The story of this line is told all around us... just pay attention.
And the flora of this enchanting place also comes in multiple, beautiful shapes and colors:
A place that creates poetry for our eyes and senses…

And what about this painting 'painted' by Man and Nature at the entrance to Tunnel 11: Cega Viña, 94 meters long?


Around this point in our walk, the rain began to appear.
Initially shyly. Then, for a few minutes (a few) it wanted to show us that it’s also part of this diverse and wonderful landscape.
But since this is a trail full of tunnels, there's nothing like running to the nearest one and waiting there for drier weather.
But we continued our walk... traveling at km 11 through Tunnel 15: Los Poyos, 37 meters long.


Next, the Los Poyos Bridge. About 11 km covered... and 6 km to go…


In Tunnel 16: La Porrera, 330 meters long, tiredness arrived.
Nothing major, but we must pay attention to our body's signals.
And on these walks, a few minutes of rest, drinking liquids and some food, works wonders!
And with the satisfaction of being about to complete the last km of a beautiful trail, in a short time we covered Tunnels 17 and 18 and the last two tunnels on the trail: Tunnel 19: Las Almas, 73 meters long and Tunnel 20: El Muelle, 239 meters long.


To finish the trail, we cross the penultimate bridge on the route: the El Embarcadero Bridge, 11 meters long. And we left uncrossed - last but not least - the International Bridge over the Douro River, connecting Spain to Portugal.


After 6 hours of walking, we had the promised 9-seat vehicle, which took us back to La Fregeneda train station and to our car. And, almost immediately, we started the journey back home.
But we brought with us the memory of many beautiful things and moments well spent!

Do you want to join me and a small group of ‘hikers’ and set out to discover these trails? Or other trails around this country?
Then don't hesitate to contact me:
Marco Moura Marques
+351 967 035 966
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