Trail of the Ridge 2025

Do you know Portugal 🇵🇹, its gentle way of life, and its landscapes? While the two major cities on the Atlantic Coast, Porto and Lisbon, may catch the eye, there's much more to discover throughout the country! The province Beira Interior South, for example, located at the border between Spain and Portugal, is a beautiful mountainous region home to the town of Aldeia do Bispo 🚩. To the north of the city 🌆, the Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve 🌲 and the trails between the two neighboring countries become the setting each year for the Trail Da Raia, a cross-border event. You're not just visiting one country on your racing trip, but two! ✌ Indeed, the race is an homage to the smuggling trails that persisted between Portugal and Spain. This part of history has now entered the shared culture and forged bonds of friendship that still endure today.

The Trail Da Raia offers 4 trail routes: 46 km, 27 km, 16 km, and 9 km 🏃. A discovery trail, two short and one long trail, making the competition as accessible as possible! Walkers can also cover the 9 km on a hike if they wish. The elevation gains - respectively 1,370 mD+, 750 mD+, 450 mD+, and 220 mD+ - are quite reasonable to allow everyone to participate. Furthermore, the routes offer relatively rolling and fast trails 🛼. Lil bonus: the two longest distances are part of the Circuit National League ITRA and are certified by the Portuguese Trail Federation (thus they bring valuable ITRA points 🏆), a chance for the medal collector in you! 😉

In Spain 🇪🇸, you'll head towards the town of Navasfrias before returning towards Aldeia do Bispo, on the Portuguese side 🔁. Experience all the beautiful natural landscapes of the region and the hot and sunny weather of August in the Iberian Peninsula! 🌞 However, watch out for sunburns, it’s best not to forget your sunscreen and a large water bottle. Fortunately, many trees are there to offer you shade in a dense forest area with a refreshing eucalyptus scent... 🥰 And to make this moment even more unforgettable, the organizers have done everything to make the event fun and enjoyable: you'll realize it once you're there 😉.

The territory of Aldeia do Bispo is mountainous, with the city positioned at an average altitude of 600 m above sea level (or the Atlantic Ocean, to be exact 😅). After or before your race, you can take advantage of the Portuguese coastline. After all, we don't travel every day, so we might as well fully enjoy it! The country of Vasco de Gama and Magellan naturally has a strong maritime culture, which you can explore in the beautiful cities of Porto and Lisbon 😍. These two major European cities both have their fans. It's hard to choose between them, especially in football! ⚽️ The best way to reach a consensus is to enjoy some of the country's culinary specialties while sipping a glass of Port wine 🍷 (of course, we were going to mention that 😂).

If you've really set aside time for the Trail da Raia, you can even push exploration to the various islands offshore, like the island of Azores and Pico, which hosts the highest peak ⛰ in Portugal, the Punta do Pico (2,351 m). Well, we agree that's another trip: these two islands are 1,000 km from the coast 🏊.