3 Days – Peneda-Gerês National Park

Explore the National Park like no one!
The Peneda-Gerês National Park is a vast territory with very different regions. From Barroso to Alto Minho the landscape changes a lot, as well as the culture and the people.

Discover the different regions of the national park, the villages and go through old trails used by shepherds, always in the company of a local guide.

• Comfortable clothes and footwear;
• Sun screen (summer);
• Beach towel (summer);
• Hat;
• Rain jacket (winter)
• Luggage for two nights

Located above 1000m of altitude (3280 ft), Pitões das Júnias is one of the highest villages of Portugal. It’s surrounded by huge mountain tops of granite which were eroded by millions of years. We will walk through ancient trails seeing big granite blocks and possibly see wild goats and the unique and beautiful “Lírios of Gerês”, a local flower.

We will stop to have lunch on a typical local restaurant and after lunch, at the end of a hike, we will see the ancient monastery of the XII century of Santa Maria da Júnias located on a small valley, where a small river shows us one of the most gorgeous waterfalls of that area.

The Gerês mountain range is a huge part of the national park, including the border with Spain.

We will explore this region and see very different landscapes from the ones we saw before because of the micro-climates that exist here. At the mountain tops we see extremely rocky views and on the valleys humid luxurious forests with lots of rivers and lakes.

Here we find some of the most native and protected forests of Portugal, including the Mata da Albergaria which is traversed by an ancient Roman road which connected Braga to Astorga (in Spain).

We will also go through some small villages of the inside of the country, which remain unchanged though time and remain dedicated to agriculture and cattle raising.

You will walk with us and discover all these hidden places and feel these different landscapes.

You will see a very different Portugal, a Portugal “off the path”!

The Serra da Peneda – Soajo is known for its Brandas
In Soajo and Peneda there is a typical type of settlement: Brandas and Inverneiras.

They are temporary villages whose origin is related to the need of the populations to use the pastures located in the mountain range to feed the cattle.

Inverneira is the village where the family spends the winter. They are located in valleys, that is, in low altitudes.

At the beginning of autumn, people go down to Inverneira and stay there until March. At that time, they go up to Branda, where they grow their cereal crops and where they spend most of the year.

Nowadays, in the few villages that keep the tradition, people only take the animals and some possessions.
In this region we can also visit some old buildings such as the “Espigueiros” (granaries) and the “Fojo do Lobo” (Lobos traps).

• ​​​​Explore the Peneda-Gerês National Park hiking.
• Lady of Peneda Santuary
• Brandas
• Soajo and Lindoso “Espigueiros
• Hiking in different locations of great scenery and natural value.
• Observation and understanding of the flora and fauna of the National Park.
• Explore rivers and natural waterfalls of the National Park and, if the weather is fine, swim across and dive into its incredible natural lagoons.
• Lunch – local cuisine
• Find the best viewpoints and see the amazing sights.
• Visit local villages
• Private tour

• All transfers in the park
• Local English-speaking guide
• 3 Lunches
• Water
• Personal accident insurance

• Accommodation
• Personal expenses
• Gratuities
• Notes:
  • We provide pick-up in Porto, Braga or other places
  • We can suggest accommodation options