Walking in Peneda-Gerês National Park

Peneda-Gerês National Park is Portugal’s only national park, sequestered away in north-west Portugal against the Spanish border. Despite celebrating its 50th year in 2021, Gerês remains one of the least-known national parks in Europe.

“I came to live here in 2001,” says João Pedro Serôdio, the owner of our partner Quinta Lamosa Ecotourism. “I fell in love with the region and wanted to create sustainable holidays here. There is a calm that only the mountains provide.”

But despite the quiet, you’ll find signs of life (and past lives) all over the place. People have lived here since 6000 BC – and it shows. Footpaths lead hikers to villages that are isolated but self-sufficient, filled with people who welcome an extra face at the table with a glass of vinho verde and a plate of bean stew.

There’s been a steady drift of people leaving Peneda-Gerês for the cities since the early 20th century, and the people who remain work hard to carve a living out of rocky farm terraces and orchards. Our partners also work hard to connect you with them by offering local B&Bs to snooze in and mountain food to feast on.

Even in the wilds, people have left their bootprints behind. Roman mile markers like standing stones signpost even the craggiest parts of the Via Geira, the ancient road that links Braga in Portugal with Astorga in Spain. Wooden shrines and cave sanctuaries decorate mountaintop pilgrimage paths. Other trails have been carved by farmers flocking from mountain pastures to milder valleys in winter, shepherds driving their sheep through meadows, religious pilgrims, and smugglers loaded with goods bound for the Spanish border during the Restoration War. Endangered wolves follow the paths, too – as well as fojos, the disused stone wolf traps that tell the troubled history of people and wolves here.

The GR 50 is the most famous walking route in Peneda-Gerês National Park. It isn’t really a single path, but is stitched together from parts of the Roman road, herding tracks and medieval pilgrimage paths. The route largely keeps to the mountains for the full 200km, so this challenging hike is best stretched over a couple of weeks so that you can appreciate the villages and scenery along the way. It’s all neatly waymarked, too. Follow the stages from one to 19 or vice versa, or just dip into the sections that take your fancy.

Lindoso might only be a 1,300-person village, but it was an important outpost in the 13th-century Restoration War, when Lindoso Castle was built on a rocky ridge to guard the Portuguese border. There’s another curiosity: 50 tomb-like espigueiros. These dark granite granaries are raised on stilts to protect the harvest from weather and pests, finished off with a flourish of crosses.

Lots of footpaths reach out from Lindoso towards other valley hamlets such as Tibo. They also head towards the Lima River, a wide waterway split by the Spanish border that covered the tracks of smugglers. A paved road arches over the Alto Lindoso Dam, where water plunges into a gorge and powers the hydroelectric station that powers many of the villages.

Abandoned villages are one of the most striking sights you’ll see while hiking in Peneda-Gerês National Park. Since the political and social upheaval of the early 20th century, farms and villages in the region have experienced an exodus of residents, mirroring many rural areas in Europe. After all, while the park might feel remote, it’s only an hour’s drive away from Porto – a tempting escape route for those not interested in or unable to live a hard life in farming, or reliant on fleeting seasonal work in the few cafés and hotels.

The flow of people out of the park has led to a trickle of unexpected visitors in. Where farms have been abandoned, more endangered Iberian wolves have crept back into the deep pine-lined valleys and craggy foothills – although they are still confined to just 20 percent of their previous territory. Butterflies burst into the sunshine of rarely-grazed meadows, a rare breed of local wild horse called the Garrano grazes besides farm tracks, and horned ibex perch on ravines like gargoyles.

“In addition to the fabulous diversity of flora in the Peneda-Gerês National Park, it’s possible to see Iberian wolf, lynx, deer, wild horses, wild pigs and golden eagles…,” says João Pedro Serôdio, from our partner Quinta Lamosa Ecotourism. “The number of animals here will transport you. In Portugal, it’s a reality only possible on the trails in Peneda-Gerês National Park, together with a peace that isn’t possible elsewhere.”

Some biodiversity scientists see the land abandonment as a form of passive rewilding. Older generations in areas like Castro Laboreiro, where many villages have been abandoned, have glimpsed boars and ibex for the first time in their lives. There are knock-on effects to the animals’ return too – when the boars root around in the soil, they make room for a variety of species to grow back. When ibex die naturally, they provide carcasses for golden eagles and vultures to feed on.

Most walking holidays in Peneda-Gerês are self guided and can be tailored to your requirements. It’s worth sticking close to the suggested itinerary, however – they’re designed by local experts who know the most atmospheric hotels, secret shrines and beautiful villages in the region.

However, self guided walking holidays don’t leave you to fend for yourself. You’ll often be met at your first hotel, where a guide will go through your routes (usually in paper or app form) and answer any questions. They’re fonts of local knowledge, and often the people who have helped design your holiday, so this is a great opportunity to pick their brains. They’ll bring or help you hire any walking poles you might need on the rocky mountain ways and inform you which parts of the park require special permits or a guide to explore.