Holiday in Peneda-Gerês

About Peneda-Gerês

The Peneda-Gerês National Park is Portugal's only national park and a green paradise in the far northwest of the country, which could not be more different from the beaches of the Algarve that most travelers associate with Portugal. Here, on the border with Spain, a wild mountain landscape unfolds with dense oak forests, granite rocks, roaring waterfalls, and crystal-clear river pools inviting for a swim. The park covers 700 square kilometers and stretches from the peaks of the Gerês mountains (up to 1,545 m) in the south to the more remote Peneda mountains in the north. The diversity of landscapes is impressive: granite peaks alternate with peat bogs, centuries-old mixed forests, and terraced valleys where tiny villages have been shaped by farming for generations. The most beautiful natural experiences are the cascatas — waterfalls and natural river pools. The Cascata do Arado spectacularly plunges into a granite basin, and the Seven Lagoas on the Rio Homem form a chain of turquoise natural pools where one can swim on hot summer days. The reservoir of Vilarinho das Furnas houses the remains of a village submerged in the 20th century, whose ruins eerily protrude from the lake at low water levels. The Espigüiros — traditional granary structures made of granite on stilts — are an architectural gem and can be found by the dozens in the villages of Lindoso and Soajo, with a dramatic mountain panorama as a backdrop. Wild horses (Garranos) roam the plateaus, eagles circle over the peaks, and with a bit of luck, one might catch a glimpse of Iberian wolves in the more remote valleys. Peneda-Gerês is the Portugal that most travelers never get to see — original, wild, and breathtakingly beautiful.