Beneath the increasingly frayed soles of my favorite hiking boots, an ancient stone road, jumbled and ragged with age, climbs unevenly toward the top of a mountain. Much earlier today and far, far below, I stood in the paved stone plaza of Ponte de Lima, my feet obscured by a feathery, post-dawn vapor covering the ground. Around me, lone walkers with tall staffs and small groups laden with heavy backpacks were gathered, each with his own plans for the mountain. Many were clearly religious pilgrims, eager to set off on the next leg of the Caminho de Santiago Portuguese Way, a steep section of a route that leads from here toward the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. José Augusto, co-owner of Portugal Green Walks, was there to meet me, and we set off with the singular pleasure that surely fills the heart of every explorer.

My passage through the mountain’s challenging paths has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with moving slowly away from the escalating angst that’s been affecting my sleep. I’ve learned walking not only erases my stress completely, but also it’s how I’m best able to absorb a landscape. And there’s an abundance to absorb. Today’s onward, upward 12-mile path leads from the plaza across a medieval Romanesque-Gothic bridge with 22 arches spanning the river Lima and from there into the flowering countryside. The route occasionally overlaps for short distances with narrow paved roads through small, charming villages and vineyards where thick vines have been trained along sturdy granite trellises.

Several hours into the trek, we reach a tiny roadside café where we pause briefly to rest and enjoy some fruit and chilled water. This, Augusto cheerfully informs me, is where things begin to get tough. He’s right, too. Over the next several hours, we negotiate a series of narrow, rocky splits that pass for paths leading nearly straight uphill, carved by long-ago Roman soldiers.

As the trail increases in difficulty, my thoughts turn from weary legs to wine and castles — and I concentrate on the rewards I’ve built into the next four days of traversing Portugal’s beauty on foot. Each day ends with a night sleeping and recovering in one of the country’s magnificent, historic pousadas — a network of castles, palaces, abbeys and monasteries converted into stunning hotels. We reach the top of the last grade and walk across mostly level ground for a few more miles, crossing a low rock bridge built by the long-ago soldiers who carved the mountain trail. I gaze out at the resplendent scenery, a pleasant achiness coursing through me, along with the delicious lightness of spirit that accompanies the successful completion of any difficult task.

I spend the night resting comfortably at the much-lauded Pousada de Santa Marinha in the town of Guimarães. Originally the Monastery dos Agostinhos, the 12th-century structure was transformed into its present incarnation in 1975 by Portuguese architect Fernando Távora. Passing through an upper gallery tiled with scenes from nature and the arts, I stop to admire a portrayal of heavenly beings pouring the clouds into the sky. My room, nearby, overlooks part of a vast network of formal gardens that make up the grounds, and I wake early in order to wander among them before setting off on today’s walk. I stumble upon a wide, terraced stone staircase, hidden from immediate view in a large wooded copse, leading to a walled reflecting pool. The crumbling wall embracing the water is covered in deep moss, lending a sense of mystery to the setting.

Lindoso granaries © Vítor Ribeiro | Dreamstime.com

After breakfast, Paulo Lopes, Augusto’s business partner, and guide Isabel Sousa join me. We head for Parque Nacional Peneda-Gerês, the country’s enormous National Park area. Along the way, we halt in Lindoso, a miniscule granite village where small, rectangular stone storage houses — each oriented to the east — still stand on stone pillars ingeniously designed to prevent mice from scaling them and feasting on the harvest. Two men on horseback pass by, a goat trotting beside them, and I look over my shoulder to make sure there isn’t someone from Central Casting lurking in the shadows.

Soon enough we’re deep into the park, where wolves still dwell. This is Portugal at its most glorious and untamed, and in no time at all, a half-dozen wild garrano ponies cross our path. We have a very specific destination, and after following a winding, grassy shepherd’s trail bordered by towering conifers, we arrive. A Neolithic dolmen, its enormous capstone still firmly in place, sits serenely in a low, rocky depression. Sousa explains that it, along with numerous other stone monoliths, dates to a period in history when Celtic tribes invaded this area. Carvings of symbols and figures, predating even the Celts, can still be seen in numerous places, including the coastline just north of Viana do Castelo.

The next day, I leave the northern regions of Minho, Douro and Trás-os-Montes behind, boarding the train from Porto to the central Alentejo zone. Here the orderly, rolling landscape is draped with olive groves, old vineyards and a mix of citrus and the gnarled cork trees that are so emblematic of this part of the country. I wake in the Pousada do Alvito, a small and elegant 15th-century castle reflecting an enchanting blend of Moorish, Gothic and Manueline architectural styles. The windows in my enormous room overlook the interior courtyard and towers and a garden where peacocks stroll in the sunlight.

After breakfasting on oranges picked in the adjacent garden, I’m escorted by Jorge Pereira Sintra, renowned cyclist and managing partner of nature outfitter Passeios e Companhia, along a five-mile trail leading from the Vila Nova da Baronia into rural terrain. Belled sheep provide a soundtrack as we wend our way along tracks bordered by thickets made up mostly of olive and cork trees. It’s hot, and we take a welcome break to explore the cool interior of a small, intricately decorated 17th-century church. Sintra procures a key from an elderly woman tending to a garden at a small house just down the track, who watches me carefully. As we leave, I earn a smile of approval from her when I tell her how beautiful I found the tiles and frescoes inside.

There’s another ancient Roman bridge to cross, and though I’m ready to collapse by the time I arrive at Pousada de Vila Viçosa, I’m so stunned by its beauty that I’m temporarily revived. Nuno Guégués is there to show me around, leading me to a cloistered walkway where a series of joined, flat stones running down the center quietly mark the final resting place of the nuns who dwelled here more than 500 years ago, when the majestic building was the Convento Real das Chagas de Cristo. When Guégués gestures to the surrounding walls and ceilings, I catch my breath at the sheer loveliness of the painted details. The work is attributed to poet and artist Cecilia of the Holy Spirit, who lived and worked here until the date of her death in 1723. A number of legends are associated with the old convent, where the ghost of the former mother superior is said to linger.

I detect no spirit visits in the night and sleep deeply. A good thing, because my last lengthy hike involves more mountain paths. Accompanied by Guégués and Jorge Velez of local adventure outfitter Tempo Sem Fim, we make our way to Serra de São Mamede for another upward trek. It’s a glorious day, and Guégués — who is both a botanist and the manager of the Pousada de Marvão — helps me identify the native flora we find along the path, explaining the traditional medicinal use of each plant. When we finally reach a broad plateau at the top, my guides have a glorious surprise prepared. The day before my arrival, Velez had made the trek to the top on his own, carrying a young, potted cork tree. He presents it to me, naming it the Debra Tree, and together we dig a hole in the rocky earth, planting the tree and soaking the soil with water from our bottles. At the end of our hike, we celebrate with a selection of local meats, cheeses and breads, and treats from Almojanda, a purveyor of exquisite Portuguese foods from the Alentejo region.

My night is spent at Pousada do Crato, once the Santa Maria de Flor da Rosa Monastery. As with every other pousada I’ve had the good fortune to visit on this trip, its beauty is breathtaking. Built in stages, with a Gothic castled courtyard, Manueline Gothic church and Renaissance and Mudejar convent rooms, it has the unexpected modern touch of Portuguese architect Carrilho da Graça, who’s left a contemporary stamp with design elements that work seamlessly, despite the distance between this century and the 14th century, when the first buildings here were constructed.

“Walking …” wrote author Rebecca Solnit in her book Wanderlust: A History of Walking, “is how the body measures itself against the earth.” I’ll add to that sentiment, and say that walking also provides a way for the heart to shake loose its cares and to embrace something larger and brighter than it may have known before. Walking in Portugal, where the soft language curves and flows and legions of pathways lead to palaces and castles, it was easy to lose track of time and space. Now I have a new connection, planted on top of a mountain, drinking in the sun and rain. Truly a splendid thing — and somewhere for my mind to turn the next time I feel a bit overwhelmed by the world.

INFO TO GO

Lisbon International Airport (LIS) is connected to the city center by the metro Red Line, with a station located outside the arrivals/departures area. Tickets, priced according to destination, must be validated before boarding. The city is less than five miles from the airport and is accessible via taxi or bus; taxis charge a 20 percent surcharge weekends, holidays and daily from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Carris city buses and Aerobus service provide regular service between the airport and central city; after 9 p.m., buses run every half hour. Fares can be paid on board. Porto Airport (OPO) is seven miles from city center, connected via the metro Purple Line from the airport station. Taxis are readily available (about $40 to city center), along with buses and rental cars from all major agencies.