Hiking trails, natural pools, waterfalls and mountain villages in northern Portugal

A visit to the Paneda-Gerês National Park was one of the best excursions I did on my ten day visit to Porto. This park covers 270 square miles of forrest, mountains, rivers and waterfalls. The park, which is the only national park in Portugal, is located in the north-east corner, bordering Spain. When the park was established, there were villages in the mountains. These villages are still inhabited. If you are lucky you might encounter wildlife like wild horses and even wolves. There are more than a hundred trails to choose from. You can do day trips or multiday hikes. The variaty of trails are vast. But, the most popular are the trails that lead to waterfalls and river pools with crystal-clear water. I joined a tour with a guide, which was probably the best choice for me.

After crossing a dam, we drive into the park and uphill on a dirt road until we park and get ready to spend some hours of walking. That is hike I chose to do. It was a day trip from Porto to spend some 7/8 hours in the park. The trail we chose is probably considered as a medium hard trail because of the rather steep and rocky terrain. It was necessary to look to the ground to watch my steps. Some
stretches of dense forrest that did provide shade. It was a warm day.

After some rather rough walking, we reached the river with waterfall and the natural pool below. There were already several people who had found their way before us. But it was refreshing with a dip into the water to wash of the dust of the trail.

We didn't see any wild horses, the Barrosã cattle or herd of sheep. But we saw these two lizards and a couple of small frogs when we continued our hike.

In the small village of Fojo de Lobo Fafião we had a lunch break. As we came into the village we saw a couple of posters advertising a festival for wolves - «Aldeia de Lobos» . Our lunch was at the restaurant Reteiro do Geres. Starting with a soup, we continued to lots of tasty, local dishes. Notice the white cup. It is not for coffee, but for wine. When the shepherds are up in the mountains looking after their sheep and goats, they use the cup both for soup and for wine.

Then we continued through the village. It was nice to have a guide who could tell us about the village and how the villagers preserve their old traditions. Many of the traditional houses are built in stone. Then there are the famous graneries on stilt – the so called «espigueiros». This is where the villagers keept their grain. Because they are on stilts, mice and rats aren't able to reach the grain. When looking at them, I find them similar to the Norwegian "stabbur" used for storing food. The difference is that the Norwegian graneries were built of wood.

In the outskirts of the village we made a stop at this information board and the stone walls. The walls are part of an old wolf trap the villagers were using in order to protect their livestock. It is not know excactly how old the trap is, but it does look well-preserved. The two walls are more than 60 meter in length and more than 2 meters high. It says on the board that it was in use for the last time in 1948. To day the village of Fafião is now a great defender of the Iberian wolf that might be among the endangered species in the park.

The trap seen from above (on the board) does give an impression of the size. The stone wall is quite impressive. A trail mark is painted at one end of the wall.

When we reached the road and got in the car we made a short stop at another beautiful pool before heading back to Porto. The national park is definitly worth a visit. It takes only 80 – 90 minutes to drive from Porto to the entrance, which makes it easy accessible from Porto. So if you need a break from the big city, a trip to Paneda-Gerês National Park is definitely recommended.