Peneda-Geres reveals old – and continuing – ways of life

Carlos pointed to the far side of the reservoir, where the low water level exposed rocky grey shapes that seemed too linear for nature. The lost village of Vilarinho da Furna – along with the working lives of shepherds and farmers, wolf traps, bear deterrents, a Celtic hill fort, and Roman graffiti – were not what we’d expected to see in Peneda-Geres National Park.

When we drove north to Portugal’s only national park, we thought we’d learn about plants, animals, geology and environmental issues over our two-full-day visit. Surprise! This park along the Spanish border also preserves old ways of life, and many of them are still current ways of life.

Bill zoomed the camera lens in on Vilarinho da Furna and we took turns studying what was left of the village as Carlos, our guide, explained its history. All the people had been moved out before their village was flooded in 1972 when the new dam came into operation and created the reservoir. From our far-off lookout point, we spied rectangular walls, tall chimneys, triangular gable ends, and stairways to nowhere. The drought in August 2022 had exposed the village.    

Just as we did for Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros, we hired a guide who shared his insider knowledge and took us places we would have otherwise missed. Good friends of ours had visited Peneda-Geres earlier and had recommended National Park Tours as an excellent company. After spending the day with Carlos, we had to agree. This large park, listed by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve, has four main sectors, each of which requires at least a few days to explore. Carlos picked us up at our hotel in the village of Vila do Geres and drove us all over the southern sector.

Carlos took us first to Miradouro da Pedra Bela [Beautiful Stone Viewpoint], which gave us a literal overview of the mountains and steep, forested river valley we were about to explore. While limestone forms the base of Aires e Candeeiros park further south, granite is the starring stone in Peneda-Geres. Old granite that’s worn down and rounded forms two of the park’s four mountain ranges (Amarela and Soajo); the other two ranges (Peneda and Geres) have the more rugged, rough new granite – “new” meaning 290 million years old.  

From the viewpoint, we set off on a seven-kilometre hike along the Corrals trail. Carlos had studied biology in university, so he taught us the names of many plants and animals along the way. He pointed out sequoias that were imported but not invasive, mimosa that was highly invasive, cork oaks, and strawberry trees, the fruit of which is used to make a fiery liquor called medronho. (I’ve tried it; it’s gut-wrenching.)

Heather bloomed in various shades of purple and pink. Spiky gorse bushes and blackberry brambles made sure we kept to the path. We knelt next to a pool of water and inspected a carnivorous plant with red and green leaves and a shiny sugary substance that attracts insects. He told us the names of various lizards that darted about. We passed a herd of garranos – small chestnut-coloured ponies that run wild most of the year but are rounded up in the summer for tourist rides. We watched tits (small birds) flit about in the pine trees.

Carlos pointed to what looked like tent caterpillar nests hanging at the ends of some pine branches. They’re the nests of processional caterpillars. In springtime, they walk by the hundreds in long lines, nose-to-tail. Fascinating. Our friends had seen them in April, but in August the poisonous-to-humans-and-dogs caterpillars were underground, transforming into the moths that would later lay their eggs in the pine-tree nests.

He also pointed to various shapes and sizes of scat, belonging to mammals such as badgers, wolves, roe deer, and foxes, explaining that it’s an important part of their social life to leave a marker saying essentially “I was here!”

“This is their Facebook,” Carlos said. And for the rest of the day, when we saw a pile of scat, he’d point and say “Facebook.” We laughed at the irony.

About 10,000 people still live in the various villages within the park. The Corrals trail passed by several of the corrals where shepherds still bring their cattle for summer grazing. Each of the corrals had a stone hut nearby. Some are higher end, with solar panels on the roofs and GPS trackers on each cow.

We inspected a basic hut with room enough to stretch out in a sleeping bag and cook over a fire. A stone lean-to protected a pile of freshly cut firewood. A stone slab and rock seat provided an al fresco eating area. People looking after cattle stay in the huts for several weeks at a time, whereas those tending goats take them daily to and from their villages. Later, we saw the two types of cattle: big cows with small horns, and small cows with long, curving horns.      

In a meadow we saw a cluster of beehives surrounded by wire fencing – a modern silha dos ursos [bear defence]. The traditional defence against marauding Winnie-the-Poohs was a circular stone wall around cork beehives, although bears have long disappeared from the park. The stone enclosures can still be seen in other parts of the park, along with other human ways of protecting themselves and their food against wildlife.

Carlos told us about espigueiros – granaries raised on stone pillars to deter rats – that are still used, as well as old fojos dos lobos [wolf traps]. At one lookout, he pointed across the valley where we could faintly see the remains of an ancient trap built to hunt wolves. Two long stone walls converge on a circular walled pit. The walls funnel the wolves into the pit-trap. They sounded very similar to buffalo jumps in North America. Only about 2,300 Iberian wolves still exist, with about 100 in the park.

After our hike, Carlos took us to a ferny woodland oasis with a stone picnic table next to one of the many fontes – spring water fountains with water you can actually drink! We filled our water bottles, then partook of the vast picnic lunch Carlos laid out – complete with No Stress vinho verde wine.

We resumed our drive along the twisting mountain road northward, towards the Spanish border. We passed a checkpoint where, from June to September, a toll is levied to help control numbers in the most sensitive area of the park. We entered one of the last oak forests in Europe to have old growth.

At Portela do Homem, we passed a small sign that said “Espanha.”

“Now you’re in Spain,” Carlos announced. After lingering for approximately 30 seconds, he did a U-turn and took us back into Portugal.

An old Roman road called the Via Nova [ironically, the New Road], stars in this northern part of the park. We parked and walked along a trail that followed the cobblestone road built by the Romans in the year 80 from Braga, a city northeast of Porto, to Astoria, in northwestern Spain near Leon. English ivy climbed the oak tree trunks and glossy holly leaves displayed their spiky tips.

We hiked through the woods to the Sāo Miguel bridge over the Homem River. The two-arched Roman bridge had been destroyed in 1640 during a battle with Spain, but the stone foundations were still there supporting a newer wooden bridge. We scrambled down the riverbank to inspect the original foundations. Fascinating to touch the stones laid there by Romans nearly 2,000 years ago.

We passed by dozens of Roman mile markers. I had expected mile markers to be lone stone pillars set one mile apart. But there and elsewhere along the road we passed markers in groups. It turns out that at each marker, people also erected stone pillars engraved with homages to various Roman gods, praying for safe journeys and such. Some pillars also have the equivalent of graffiti – chiseled in Latin, of course. Graffiti artists must have been very committed to sit there chiseling for hours – more so than the quick spray-paint tags of today.   

After viewing the lost village of Vilarinho da Furna, Carlos returned us to our hotel, exhausted yet well pleased with all we had learned. We felt well prepared to venture out on our own the next day.

We began day two at two small museums – the first dedicated to preserving the history and memories of Vilarinho da Furna. Exhibits showed farming implements, a model kitchen with iron pots hanging in a stone fireplace, and an enormous loom. But the dozens of black-and-white photos of former villagers really put a human face on what had been lost. No photos included cars or any signs of electricity.  

The second small museum, right beside the first, explained how the Romans had constructed their roads and bridges, showed some of the cars and wagons used along them, and deciphered the many mile markers. Roads were one of the most important elements that kept the Roman Empire together, because they allowed movements of troops, officials, people, and goods, and illustrated the power (and ambition) of emperors.

We saw tools they had used – levels and odometers – plus maps of the Roman road network. Wonderful dioramas showed building the bridge and road, including quarrying the granite, hauling blocks, shaping and laying stones on the prepared beds, pressing stones into place using a giant roller, and setting the mile markers into place.

Over lunch and a jug of wine (I had asked for just a glass, but I’m still learning Portuguese), we flipped through a booklet of trails I’d picked up at the museum and chose the seven-kilometre Cidade da Calcedonia Trail that goes to an Iron Age fort later occupied by the Romans and called Calcedonia.

“This settlement was riddled with a labyrinth of tunnels that were built to confuse enemies,” read the booklet. “Even today, you can still come across traces of walls or find ancient ceramic fragments when walking around Calcedonia.”

That sounded interesting and doable…although the jug of wine perhaps clouded our judgement. That and the fact that the trail began in the village of Covide should have warned us.

The trail was great at the start. We sauntered along another section of the Via Nova, passing mile marker XXVI in a shady grove, and onto pretty country lanes that wound between the hills.

Then we started zigzagging up a mountain. The piles of goat droppings (Facebook!) were a clue that we were literally on a goat path. Suddenly Bill, ahead of me, exclaimed and stopped, pointing quietly to a black horned goat sheltering in a cave-like rocky overhang. She kept her eyes firmly on Bill as he passed, and then on me. I’m sure she wondered why we were hiking in the hottest part of the day, instead of having a shady siesta like her.

The trail got steeper and rougher. We began to monitor our water intake to conserve it. When would we reach the Iron Age hill fort at the top? We watched the sun and worried we’d never get back to Covide before sunset.

Eventually, the trail led into a large cave and we welcomed the shady respite. As we rested on boulders, we spied the trail marker – yellow and red stripes – that indicated the trail continued out a hole at the back of the cave! It was so steep to get out that I had to boost Bill and then he grabbed my hand to haul me upwards.

We never did find a discernable hill fort, nor did we see those fabled “traces of walls” or “ancient ceramic fragments” the brochure had promised.

“This trail isn’t even a goat path anymore!” I said as we scrambled down boulders and dodged brambles.

What we did discover were spectacular views across the valley towards Covide and the knowledge that we could handle a challenging trail in Peneda-Geres National Park.

As we finally approached Covide, a man caught up to us and asked us for water. He’d gotten lost and run out. We shared half of the few inches we had left, and he gulped it down gratefully.

All these photos were taken along the trail, even if you can’t see it!

We later realized the trail was rated one of the most difficult in the park. And we figured that the cave must have been part of the hill fort.

We left Peneda-Geres the next day, promising ourselves we’d return later to explore those other three sectors. The park is one of Portugal’s unsung gems.

We visited Peneda-Geres National Park in August 2022. Find out where we are right now by visiting our ‘Where’s Kathryn?’ page.

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