Aldeias do Xisto

The Aldeias do Xisto are twenty-seven villages built from schist - the layered grey rock of the central Portuguese hills - in the Lousã, Açor and Gardunha ranges. They emptied through the twentieth century as people left for the coast, Lisbon and France, and by the 1990s several had almost no permanent residents. The network was set up from 2001 as a joint programme between municipalities and a development association to restore buildings, create walking and mountain biking routes, open river beaches and bring people back, whether as residents, second-home owners or visitors. It has worked partially: some villages have year-round life, others are effectively holiday accommodation. Talasnal, Casal Novo, Candal and Cerdeira in the Lousã; Piódão and Benfeita in the Açor. The fires of 2017, which killed over sixty people in this region, burned much of the surrounding forest.

What you actually see

• The schist building - grey layered stone walls and slab roofs across all the villages.
• The restoration network - twenty-seven villages brought back from near-abandonment.
• The river beaches - dammed stretches of stream set up for swimming in summer.
• The 2017 fire damage - burned hillsides still visible across the region.

When to go

April to June and September to November for walking; July and August for the river beaches. Two days to a week to see several villages.

Honest expectations

A car is essential and the mountain roads are narrow and slow. Some villages are effectively holiday lets with no year-round community. Steep stepped lanes throughout. The 2017 fire scars are extensive and the recovery is partial.

Nearby

Piódão and Fraga da Pena are in the Açor; the Lousã villages cluster above that town.