Cold waters and natural spas

Summer time seems to finally be going away; it's still warm while the sun is out, but as the golden hour approaches you realise we're not in t-shirt weather any more. And that makes visiting places like this not that pleasant anymore:

Fortunately, I discovered this little gem in the summer, and will tell you how to get there!

Near Serra da Estrela, the highest point in continental Portugal, there are several places where you can bathe or swim in the several mountain rivers. They're usually cold as hell even in the Summer, but the cold water makes a great contrast with the warm temperatures, sometimes reaching over 40ºC.

The usual designation for these smaller places is poços (literally translates to "wells"); and in the last years, some of them got rediscovered/ had better accesses built. And this is one of them: meet Poço do Embude!

This poço is located in "Cortes", a small mountain village that brags about being the "capital of the natural swimming pools" - overrated for me, but this particular one was an awesome surprise.

It's easish to get to the start of the path to reach this place by placing the name on google maps/ following the signs, but from this place it's better to park the car; there's not a huge space to park but very unlikely you will ever find a big crown in these more secluded places.

From here, just a short walk, perfect to enjoy the scenery.

There's no way to get lost, just follow the winding path and admire the typical mediterranean flora; there will be a lot of pine trees and bushes. A few minutes after, you'll reach a fork on the road but the path to the poço is well signed.

There's another sign to another one of these places, but the one we want goes to the right of the little fence. From there, it's a very short walk, and the waters start to appear among the foliage.

Cross the tiny bridge, a few more steps and...

Bliss!

Diving in these cold waters in the Summer heat feels great. The spot is deep enough to fully submerge and jump head first, and the little cascade is a short swim away. With a little bit of effort and skill, you can climb from the water and lay on the warm rock next to the cascade to bask on the sun for a while.

You can also follow the path forward after the little wooden bridge, instead of turning left to the waters, and you can reach the upper rocks in an easier way.

By the way: natural jacuzzis, anyone?

It's almost as the spa ones, except the water is colder; on the bright side, you're in a natural setting with a wonderful mountain view!

And if you're lucky, you can even spot some of the mountain's inhabitants; they seem to enjoy the landscape too.

There's a little place near the water where you can relax in the greenery. Personally, I don't enjoy it that much since it's always on the shade, and after diving I definitely wanted to be at the sun. But if the weather is too warm for you, it's a great place to sit and relax.

It was the first time I have ever been here, and during the whole time only two more people appeared, had a quick swim and went away; this means you can likelly have this place almost to yourself during your stay.

I can only imagine how many more of these places are within short distance from the village where I stay, that I haven't discovered yet. Hope to discover some more of these gems next Summer!

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