Peneda-Gerês National Park

Listen first. Water runs somewhere below you, over granite. A cowbell sounds from a slope you cannot quite see. The air smells of wet bracken, pine resin and woodsmoke from a village chimney. Underfoot, the ground is hard and grey, with thin soil over solid rock. This is the edge of Peneda-Gerês, a high, folded country of mountains, and for many travellers the first door into it is the town of Arcos de Valdevez.

Here is the first surprise. Portugal has many natural parks and protected areas, but only one carries the full title of national park. It is this one. Peneda-Gerês received that status in 1971. The park sits in the far northwest of the country, against the border with Spain. On the Galician side, the mountains continue into a Spanish protected area, so the wild land does not stop at the frontier.

The park is named after its mountain ranges. The Serra da Peneda rises in the north, close to Arcos de Valdevez and Melgaço. The Serra do Gerês lies further east and south. Between them sit other ridges, among them the Serra do Soajo. Together they form a horseshoe of high ground around river valleys. Several municipalities share the park, and Arcos de Valdevez holds one of the largest and most varied sections.

Look at the stone around you. Almost everything here is granite. It forms the bare summits and the huge rounded boulders, and it fills the riverbeds. People built with it for centuries too: houses, walls, bridges, threshing floors and granaries. The rock is pale grey when dry. After rain it turns dark. Lichen covers it in orange, green and silver patches. On a cloudy day the whole landscape can look carved from one block.

Now think about the people. These mountains were never empty. For generations, families farmed small terraced fields and grazed animals on the high pastures. In parts of the Peneda and Soajo ranges, some communities kept two homes. In summer they moved up to settlements called brandas, near the high grass. In winter they returned to lower villages called inverneiras, where the weather was gentler. You may still see these paired stone hamlets on the slopes today.

One of the best places to understand this way of life is Soajo, a village inside the municipality of Arcos de Valdevez. At its edge stands a group of espigueiros. These are narrow stone granaries raised on legs above a granite outcrop. Families stored maize in them, safe from damp and from rodents. Many carry a small stone cross on the roof. Seen together, they look like a little village of chapels. They are still part of community life.

Another place in Arcos de Valdevez gives a second surprise. Sistelo is a village set among steep agricultural terraces. Generations of farmers cut these terraces into the hillside by hand and held them up with dry-stone walls. In the right light, the green steps climb the valley like a staircase. Portuguese travel writers sometimes call Sistelo the little Tibet of Portugal. The name is a nickname, of course, but standing below the terraces, you can see why it stuck.

Higher up, in the Peneda range, you reach the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peneda. It is a pilgrimage church at the foot of a sheer granite cliff. A long stairway with small chapels leads up to it. Pilgrims have come here for a very long time, and the annual festival still brings crowds from across the Minho region. Outside festival days the place is often quiet. Then you hear mostly water falling from the rock face.

Now the animals. Keep your eyes on the open slopes. You may see Garrano horses, a small, sturdy native breed with thick manes. They often graze freely in loose groups. You may also see long-horned cattle, such as the brown Cachena, a small mountain breed. These herds belong to local farmers, even when they seem wild. Please give them space. A cow with a calf does not care about your photograph.

The wildlife is shyer. Roe deer move through the oak woods at dawn. Golden eagles sometimes circle above the ridges. The Iberian wolf still lives in these mountains, although visitors very rarely see one. Locals tell many stories about wolves, and old stone wolf traps survive in some places. In spring, look among the rocks for wild flowers. One of them is the Gerês iris, a plant found almost nowhere else in the world.

As you walk, notice the forests. In sheltered valleys you will find old oak woods, with moss on the trunks and ferns on the ground. In other places, pine and eucalyptus show where people planted trees or where fire has passed. These mountains have suffered wildfires in recent decades, and you may see burned slopes slowly turning green again. The landscape you see is a mix of wild growth and centuries of human work.

Some practical thoughts before you go further. The weather changes fast in these mountains. A bright morning in the valley can turn to cloud and cold wind on the ridges. Bring a layer, water and good shoes, because the granite paths are uneven and slippery when wet. Many roads are narrow and winding. Drive slowly, and expect to meet animals around blind corners. Respect the signs, especially in the strictly protected zones.

Before you move on, pause for a moment where you are standing. Look at the nearest stone wall. Someone lifted every one of those stones by hand. Listen again for the water and the cowbells. Watch how the light moves across the granite as clouds pass. Peneda-Gerês is not only a place of views. It is a working landscape, still shared by farmers, herds and wild animals. As you walk away, you are walking through their home.