Frecha da Mizarela

The Frecha da Mizarela is where the Ribeira da Mizarela reaches the edge of the Serra da Freita plateau and drops roughly seventy metres into a granite gorge, making it among the highest waterfalls on the Portuguese mainland. There is a viewpoint on the rim reached by road, giving the fall in profile and the valley beyond, and rougher paths that work down towards the base for those who want it. It sits inside the Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark, which covers a set of geological sites in this area - the pedras parideiras, granite that sheds nodules as if giving birth to stones; trilobite beds of exceptional size at Canelas; and the 516 Arouca suspension bridge over the Paiva gorge. Flow varies sharply with season: powerful after winter rain, and by late summer sometimes reduced to a thin thread down the rock.

What you actually see

• The drop - around seventy metres off the edge of the Serra da Freita plateau.
• The viewpoint - a rim platform giving the fall in profile.
• The geopark - Arouca's wider set of sites, including the stone-shedding granite.
• The gorge - granite walls below the fall.

When to go

November to May for volume; by August it can be a trickle. One to two hours. Morning light works better on the fall than afternoon.

Honest expectations

Little water in late summer, which disappoints those who saw winter photographs. The rim viewpoint has unfenced sections. Paths towards the base are rough and unmarked. The plateau is exposed and often windy or fogged.

Nearby

Arouca and the 516 bridge are east; the Paiva walkways are in the same geopark.