EVENT: Walking in Gerês - Pitões das Júnias, Montalegre and Tourém

DATE OF REALISATION: 1st to 4th May 2025

REGISTRATION UNTIL 31 MARCH 2025

EVENT DESCRIPTION: "Walking in Gerês - Pitões das Júnias, Montalegre, Tourém, Vilarinho de Negrões and Ponte da Misarela"

In this activity proposal, we'll walk around and visit some of the most fabulous places in the Peneda-Gerês National Park, including Pitões das Júnias, Montalegre and Tourém, as well as passing through Spain and the magnificent "Embalse de Salas", in what will be a long weekend full of strong emotions and landscapes to remember for a long time. Come and join us!

These are some of the most important places we'll be visiting during this event: 

• Village of Pitões das Júnias
• Pitões Waterfall
• Monastery of Santa Maria das Júnias
• Chapel of St John of Fraga
• Salas Reservoir
• Community oven
• Chapel of St Lawrence
• Village of Randín
• Largo do Outeiro in Tourém
• Montalegre's historic centre
• Cávado River
• Village of Donões
• Misarela Bridge
• Levadas, puddles and ponds
• Vila Nova village and medieval road
• Vilarinho dos Negrões and Alto Rabagão Reservoir
• Natural landscapes

TIME: Departure from Lisbon at 6.30am
RETURN: Arrival in Lisbon at 7.30pm

Pitões das Júnias

Far from the hustle and bustle of the world, in deep and silent isolation, the village seems to be asleep in the centre of a beautiful valley on the Mourela plateau, between the cliffs of Gerês. Its sustenance is the most frugal: but there are delicious potatoes and cabbages, fragrant honey, pure fresh water and a climate that also serves to "cure" the region's tastiest hams and alheiras. A short distance from the village, in an impressive corner, are the ruins of a modest Benedictine convent, whose foundation seems to date back to the 9th century. Half an hour's walk away, you'll discover a beautiful crystal-clear waterfall on the side of the mountain, which falls between two crags into a kind of gorge surrounded by trees and crags

1st May (Thursday)

• Lunch in Pitões das Júnias
• Waterfall and Monastery Trail
• Check-in at the Accommodation

Walking: "Santa Maria das Júnias Waterfall and Monastery Trail"

Points of interest: Waterfall, monastery and natural landscapes

Level of difficulty of the route: 3 (Scale of 1 to 5)

Route length: 5 kilometres

Estimated time: 2h30

Walk in the village of Pitões das Júnias

Nearby, next to the typical community village of Pitões das Júnias, the small and curious Monastery of Santa Maria das Júnias, now in ruins, belonged to the Cistercian Order (13th-14th centuries).

2nd May (Friday)

Tourém

Tourém, with around 151 inhabitants, rests on the shores of Gerês and it is there that it looks out over Spain and is bathed by the river that serves as a resting and feeding place for people and animals. It's a mythical place that served as a support for Piconha Castle, which defended Portugal from Castile. From Tourém we can admire its still well-preserved houses, its parallel ground and a whole history of community villages that place it side-by-side with villages like Pitões das Júnias, or even the more distant Rio de Onor. Forno ends up being the great heir to those times, as it is to the other villages mentioned. To arrive in Tourém is to arrive at the end of Portugal, not only because you're in a village in the region, but also because you're leaving behind the unique charms of Gerês and entering another world, that of Galicia with all its traditions and specificities, many of which are very similar to those of the Barroso region.

Walking: "Smuggling Route

Points of interest: Tourém village, Salas reservoir and natural landscapes

Level of difficulty of the route: 3 (Scale of 1 to 5)

Route length: 11 kilometres

Estimated time: 4 hours

Walk: "Discovering the Chapel of St John of Fraga and Fojo do Lobo "

Points of interest: Chapel of S. João da Fraga, Fojo do lobo, waterfall, stream and polders

Level of difficulty of the route: 3.5 (Scale of 1 to 5)

Route length: 10 kilometres

Estimated duration: 3h30m

Saturday 3rd May

Montalegre, Vilarinho dos Negrões and Albufeira do Alto Rabagão

In the heart of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, this region offers stunning landscapes in which nature still retains all its charm. The town of Montalegre is dominated by the castle built in the 13th century on the remains of an older fortification, which demonstrates the importance of this place as a strategic point of defence for the territory. From a gastronomic point of view, Montalegre is famous for the production of sausages and ham, and the Feira do Fumeiro, held every January, is the ideal opportunity to buy these delicacies

Tour of Montalegre's historic centre

Points of interest: Montalegre and Cávado River,

Level of difficulty of the route: 2 (Scale of 1 to 5)

Route length: 4 kilometres

Estimated duration: 1h30m

Walk in Vilarinho dos Negrões

Level of difficulty of the route: 2 (Scale of 1 to 5)

Route length: 6 kilometres

Estimated time: 1h45m

4th May (Sunday)

Devil's Bridge or Misarela Bridge

The Ponte da Misarela (Devil's Bridge) is located over the River Rabagão, about a kilometre from its mouth on the River Cávado, in the parish of Ruivães, municipality of Vieira do Minho, district of Braga, Portugal. It links the parishes of Ruivães to Ferral, in the municipality of Montalegre. It is located at the bottom of a steep gorge, resting on cliffs and at a certain height in relation to the riverbed, and is supported by a single arch with a span of around 13 metres. It was built in the Middle Ages and rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century.

Walk: "Misarela Bridge Trail"

Level of difficulty of the route: 3.5 (Scale of 1 to 5)

Route length: 12 kilometres

Estimated time: 4 hours

13.30 - Picnic

14:30 - End of activity and return to Lisbon

Equipment: Footwear and clothing suitable for hiking

Registration fee:

Price includes (see option with and without transport):

- Transport from Lisbon to all the places mentioned by Minibus or Tourist Van
- Bed and breakfast included
- 1 Group lunch or dinner
- The proposed accommodation option includes various room types
- Guided Walks
- Compulsory insurance

Prices without transport:

350€ (Price per person in double room)
420€ (Price per person in single room)
Entry fee for seat reservation: 50€

Prices with transport:

410€ (Price per person in double room)
480€ (Price per person in single room)
Entry fee for seat reservation: 50€

Prices valid until the end of March 2025. From this date onwards, the prices will be increased by 25€.

Notes: 

a) Registrations are limited and accommodation options are limited to availability at the time of booking.

b) If you have a group interested in this trip, contact us, we have personalised solutions.