Peneda-Geres National Park

Peneda-Geres is Portugal's only national park, protecting since 1971 around seven hundred square kilometres of granite mountain country against the Galician border - a world of oak and holly forest, boulder-strewn ridges, and the country's wildest fauna, from free-roaming Garrano ponies and long-horned Barrosa cattle to the shy remnant of Iberian wolves. Its villages are half the treasure: Soajo and Lindoso line up their espigueiros, stilted granite granaries crowned with crosses that stand like small stone chapels in rows, while the old Roman road to Braga still marches through the park past clusters of carved milestones. Waterfalls thread the valleys - the Arado falls and the lagoons around Fecha de Barjas draw the summer swimmers - and the little spa town of Geres has bottled its waters since long before the park existed.

History

The park was created on 8 May 1971 by decree no. 187/71 and is the oldest protected area in Portugal as well as its only national park, covering about 696 square kilometres. The Roman Geira road ran through it between Asturica Augusta (Astorga) and Braccara Augusta (Braga), and long stretches survive along the Homem river with Roman bridges and many milestones. Together with the Baixa Limia - Serra do Xurés natural park across the border in Spain, it forms the Gerês-Xurés biosphere reserve (Wikipedia, Peneda-Gerês National Park).

What you'll find

• The espigueiros - rows of stilted granite granaries at Soajo and Lindoso.
• The waterfalls and lagoons - Arado and the green swimming pools.
• The wild herds - Garrano ponies and Barrosa cattle on the heights.
• The Roman road - milestones of the ancient Braga route.

When to go

May and June bring waterfalls at full power and flowering hillsides; September keeps the warmth and loses the crowds. August fills the swimming lagoons and triggers traffic controls on some park roads.

Good to know

The famous swimming spots are mobbed in high summer and some demand rough steep tracks - sturdy shoes, not flip-flops. Roads are narrow, fuel stations sparse and phone signal patchy - plan like it is real mountain country, because it is. Wolves exist mostly as a thrilling rumour; do not expect sightings.

Nearby

Braga's sanctuaries, the vinho verde country of the Lima valley and Ponte de Lima.

Key facts