The Caretos of Podence

For a few days before Lent the village of Podence in Tras-os-Montes hands itself over to the caretos. Young men put on suits of fringed wool in red, green and yellow, tin or leather masks with a hooked nose, and belts of cowbells, then run through the streets in gangs, rattling the bells and singling out unmarried women to shake at. The noise is the point, and the costume removes the person inside it. It is an old rural rite of the end of winter that never turned into a parade, and it was added to the UNESCO intangible heritage list in 2019. A small museum in the village keeps masks and suits year-round.

What you actually see

• The suits - fringed wool in red, green and yellow, sewn for the wearer.
• The masks - hooked tin or leather faces that hide the wearer completely.
• The chocalhada - belts of cowbells shaken through the streets in gangs.
• The Careto museum - masks and costumes on show outside the festival days.

When to go

The festival falls at Entrudo, the days before Lent, so the date moves with Easter and lands in February or early March. Podence is a small village and the crowd it now draws is far bigger than it, so arrive early and park outside. Winter in Tras-os-Montes is cold and often wet. Outside those days, the museum is the only way to see it.

Honest expectations

It is loud, physical and deliberately unpolished; the caretos will get in your face and the bells hurt at close range. The village has almost no infrastructure for the numbers it now draws, which means queues for everything and a long walk from wherever you park. Photographers can outnumber locals, and the best of it happens in scrappy bursts rather than to a schedule.

Nearby

Macedo de Cavaleiros is ten minutes away; Braganca and its old citadel lie further north.