Follow our activities
A Day in Peneda Gerês National Park
One foot after the other, slowly, in no hurry to get anywhere. Just the ancestral pleasure of going, of moving forward.
Nature & Discovery
Fragments of conversations along a route that is pure sensory balm, such is the diversity and exuberance of nature, in this, one of the 7 routes that We Want Green dedicates to the Cultural Landscape of Sistelo.
Dazzling Scenery
Over the Veigas bridge, which is more like a stanza from a sublime poem, in the warm early afternoon sun, with the colourful vegetation and the magnetism of the granite landscape as backdrops... what more could you ask for?
Monção and Melgaço Wine Landscape
And here, in this Portuguese corner of the valley, there is this landscape, a lacy tapestry of small properties, where family tradition, old manor houses and contemporary innovation are perfectly balanced.
Routes of Nature, History & Culture
From Sistelo we headed towards Arcos de Valdevez, through the lush valley. The first stop was the Paço de Giela, which would be worth a visit if only to see the splendid Manueline window. But there's more, there are important historical details, there are archaeological remains of great value, there's the video that sums up that crucial moment in the foundation of Portugal that was the Recontro de Valdevez (or the "meeting to make peace", as Professor Hermano Saraiva prefers).
PENEDA GERÊS NATIONAL PARK FEATURED IN FORBES
Ann Abel emphasises, among many interesting descriptive details, that Portugal is a small country with a lot to offer and surprise. And although it's very fashionable in terms of tourism, mainly due to its most famous cities and the beauty of its beaches, it's when visitors venture beyond these dimensions that things start to get really interesting: that's when the genuineness and uniqueness of the country really reveal themselves.
To fill the whole heart
On this morning of inaugural clarity, high up among the ruins of the castle, our eyes flickering with amazement, we sensed the slow breathing of history in the murmur of the wind. And we feel it throbbing as we run our hands over the stones that make up what remains of the fortress built on this impossible site in the early days of the founding of nationality and beyond.
The Strange Beauty of Small Things
And little by little we integrate into the landscape, diluting it, completely overwhelmed by the mysterious beauty of the granite, a pure and perfect glimpse of eternity. This is what counts, everything else is redundant.
Peneda Trail
As we got closer to the top, the granite of the mountain took the centre of the stage, showing off its magnificent sculptural forms. By the time we reached the top of the route, the sky had cleared completely and the light was now at its peak of perfection.
Lamas de Mouro - Peneda (GR50)
If you're not travelling alone, it's best to keep conversations to a minimum and let the silence, impregnated with the music of the birds and the water of the streams, envelop you, absorb you and dilute you. In the meantime, you can inhale the fresh, fragrant air deeply and gaze at the fascinating granite massifs cut out in the clarity of the sky.
Glacier and Alto Vez Trail
We got back on the trail, passed a small branda, a fresh forest, herds of cattle, risky horses and entered the return route. Out there, one foot after the other on the uneven stones, we watched the wide Minho Valley, the distant Galician lands, the peculiarly shaped rocky massifs and the steep slopes of the Vez, gaining fury and vertigo there.
From Aveleira to Pedrinho
From there we advance along an unobstructed and well-defined path and little by little the landscape, irrepressibly beautiful, gains in breadth, imposing shapes and abundant streams of shadows. And the painting intensifies its magnetism and completely subdues the mind and the eye.
