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Portagem - Marvão

This walk is ideal to visit Marvão in a different way than by car. You start in Portagem next to the Sever river. You leave the village and start a steep climb along an old medieval paved road through a forest of cork oaks. You arrive at the top of the monastery of Our Lady of the Star (Convento de Nossa Senhora da Estrela). Nearby you walk through the Marvão entrance gate. Through the small alleys you reach the castle that is definitely worth a visit. Afterwards you leave Marvão and walk further in the direction of Abegoa via another old medieval road, flanked by granite walls covered with ivy and lichen. Afterwards you connect back to the route of the way there.

Galegos

From the village of Galegos you walk along old smuggling paths along the Spanish border. Due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1935, the inhabitants of this Portuguese region became very poor. In order to have some source of income, they started smuggling coffee and tobacco. These smugglers were active until about 1960. Then it goes through a gently rolling landscape in the direction of the River Sever that you cross. The last part is on walled medieval paths with beautiful views over the valley back to the village.

Santo Antonio Das Areias

An excellent walk to get acquainted with the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park. The route gives you an impression of the surroundings of the village of Santo Antonio. The granite rocks give the landscape a special character. Between all that granite you walk on old medieval paths and unpaved roads where the ancient cork oaks guide you.

Senhora Da Lapa

From the village of Besteiros you walk through a rolling landscape flanked by eucalyptus and pine forests in the direction of the Spanish border. In the valley of the Ribeira do Soverete there is a small colony of griffon vultures in the quartzite slopes. At the turning point of the route is the chapel of Nossa Senhora Da Lapa. This old chapel hides behind the altar, the entrance to a cave where it is possible to view murals from a few thousand years ago. The griffon vultures that fly under you and the view give this place an extra dimension. The way back goes to the Mouro valley and past meadows with grazing goats.