Peneda-Gerês National Park

Marcus Leach and his family continue their journey through Portugal. This time discovering the Peneda-Gerês National Park.

Think of Portugal and it’s often hard to look past the sun-soaked beaches of the Algarve, the famous old streets of Lisbon and Porto’s famous port houses. However, as we discovered ourselves, for those prepared to head away from the more well-known haunts, the country offers a vast array of diversity, particularly in the north. 

It’s here that we found a side to the country that remains refreshingly untamed, rich in culture and bursting with natural beauty. After spending the best part of three weeks touring around the north we discovered that far from just being an alternative to the south, is a world of its own, where verdant mountains, historic towns, and vibrant traditions invite you to step off the beaten path and into the heart of authenticity.

Of all the places that our meandering route took us, the most impactful would have to be the time we spent in Peneda-Gerês National Park, somewhere we didn’t even know existed until we arrived in the country, yet a place we know we will go back to in the future. Our route into Portugal from Spain brought us along a little mountain road, N308-1, immediately giving a glimpse of what to expect from the country’s only national park.

Cresting the top of the pass we were surrounded by great slabs of jagged granite rising rip through forests of chestnuts and oaks. The view ahead opened up before us revealing a series of deep, lustrous silvery lakes in the valley far below, the light of day ebbing away with every switchback we passed on the sinuous mountain road. It was a drive that would set the scene for the coming few weeks as we discovered the national park, each experience further cementing it in our hearts. 

Our base for the majority of our time in Peneda-Gerês was Parque Cerdeira campsite, which happened to be one of our favourite sites in the country, and not without good reason. Not only is it situated in the heart of the national park, with a multitude of fantastic walks and cycling routes all around, but it manages to marry all of the facilities and amenities you want from a modern site, all the while feeling like you’re just camping in the middle of the woods.

Upon arriving we signed up to a series of guided walks that the campsite offers on a daily basis, one in the morning and one at sunset, in order to explore and discover as much as possible. Each is run by a local guide, Paulo, who not only made the walk interesting for the kids with his energy and passion, but shared a wealth of local knowledge that enriched our experience and opened our eyes to other places to visit in the park.

One such place was Soajo, a little village deep in the mountains famous for its granite structures known as Espigueiros. These traditional stone granaries have been used by local farmers for centuries to store grain in order to protect it from rodents and humidity. They can be seen across Northern Portugal but the ones in Soajo are iconic for their unique architectural style.

The park is also home to some of the country’s best traditional food, which was of great interest to us as big food lovers. It was during our visit to Soajo that we discovered a wonderful little eatery, Restaurante Videira, serving many of the region’s best known dishes, including Alheira, which is a type of sausage made with chicken meat, bread, garlic, and olive oil. 

What makes this dish even more interesting is the story behind it. It has its roots in the region's early Jewish settlers who, during the Inquisition, needed to blend in with their neighbours who almost always had smoked pork sausages hanging from their houses. So as not to stand out they created a sausage that looked the same, only it didn’t use pork, but chicken instead. Having eaten several of both I can happily say that the so-called ‘imitation’ is definitely the better tasting of the two.

Peneda-Gerês is one of those places that you want to tell everyone about, but at the same time don’t because you want it to stay exactly as it is; a haven for lovers of nature and the outdoors. It was here, amongst the rugged mountains, hidden waterfalls, ancient forests, and charming villages that we, as a family, felt most at home in all of Portugal, perfectly connected with nature.

As we eventually said Até logo to the park I couldn’t help but think how true Bill Bryson was when he said “to my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” All I can say is that it most certainly won’t be our last visit here.