Just found this video on social media about a french team (PEK) that went to kayak in the Laboreiro River.
The Laboreiro River is born in Castro Laboreiro – Melgaço – Portugal and in its final kilometers acts as a natural border, separating Portugal from Spain.
I don’t know your kayak skills but the beauty of this relatively unexplored place is worth it.
By the amount of water flowing and the last part of the video you can tell they did this in winter..
Today I stumbled on this great video on Youtube about the Nature Conservation Park located in both Northern Portugal and the Spanish region of Galicia.
On the Portuguese side one of the doors to the Park is actually in “Lamas de Mouro” – Melgaço if you drive around 20 minutes up mountain from the town.
As you can see it in the video it is a beatiful place with ancient ruins from “Stone Age” dolmens to Roman bridges.
Check a list and GPS coordinates HERE (new tab).
The mountais are covered with giant round shaped rocks some of them famous for their curious shape. There is also a lot of small rivers, waterfals from many sizes and small lakes.
Wild animals include wild flurry horses (video 0:46) and deers. There are wolves too but don’t expect to see them as they are scarce nowadays and the ones that are left are intelligent enough to avoid humans.
Now that I moved to Hungary I’ve had the chance to explore quite a few European Conservation Parks and usual mountain/forest destinations in Austria, Hungary, Croacia and Slovenia, so I can make you comparison with this places.
The first difference is that “Gerês” is not such a popular place. For some strange reason it seems that the European tourists usually don’t travel West by car. Last year I was in Slovenia and I had never seen so many German, French and Italian cars parked together. So if you want to explore on your own and prefer under-the-radar places this is a plus.
The second difference are Ticks. As crazy as it may sound, yes, ticks – those blood sucking parasites are a plague for forest-travelers in most of Central Europe. Everyone who lives here always packs a tick-removal tool for their travels, take B-vitamin or use some repelent spray. This was something completly new for someone used to hike in Portugal.
The third and last difference is in fact a disadvantage for the non-popularity of this place. While there are tourist oportunities for radical sports, hiking, rent-a-bike, rent-a-boat and others, you should search online and take notes of what you want to do and where before traveling.
Enjoy the video!
“Solar do Alvarinho” is a building in the old historical town of Melgaço – Portugal dedicated to the advertising, development and sale of Alvarinho wine. (Marked as a Cup in the map)
Alvarinho Soalheiro
Alvarinho is considered by many to be the noblest of the Portuguese white wines and is for sure the “Vinho Verde” which reaches the higher alcoholic graduations.
This wine has spread to other regions in the planet but the real Alvarinho production is limited to the sub-region “Monção and Melgaço” in northern Portugal. And it’s only made from Alvarinho grapes.
The building was among the centuries a town hall, a courthouse and a library. The top floor features a tasting room where you can try and compare the brands for FREE. Following the guidance of the employee I tasted the 2010 “Soalheiro” and a new addition to the Alvarinho family: Organic Farming – “Quinta das Alvaianas”.
At the ground floor there’s the bar/cafeteria and the shop where besides the wine you can also find other local traditional products like the “chouriço” or the “presunto”.
Wine&Spirits magazine describes “Follies Alvarinho 2009” like this:
“Rating: 92/100 – As reviewed by Wine & Spirits Magazine on 08/09. While the aroma is flinty and a little undeveloped, the flavors already show layers of fruit, from Mandarin orange and lime to white peach and an anise-like fennel note. The contrast between smoky richness and freshness makes this a luscious wine to enjoy in late summer with lobster and corn on the cob, both off the grill.”
For more information about Melgaço please check the other posts in this category.
Photos taken in January 2011.
The sanctuary of “Nossa Senhora da Peneda” is located high in the mountains and is not in fact part of Melgaço but of another municipality: “Arcos de Valdevez”.
Peneda Sanctuary
But taking your time to go up there from Melgaço you’ll also enjoy the views and explore the mountains and small villages in the way.
Even just following the road (by bicycle or by car) with some occasional stops you’ll certainly enjoy the view of the wind turbines spinning as they produce electricity, the water courses cutting their way in the mountains and you’ll enter the Peneda-Gerês National Park in “Lamas de Mouro” – Melgaço. It is possible to find wild mountain horses often.
Please don’t forget to check my other posts about Melgaço.
More photos from the sanctuary can be found: HERE
Photos taken in January 2011. Temperatures in Melgaço were around 10-15ºC (50-59F)
Melgaço is one of those unknown destinations in Portugal with plenty to offer as you can check on my previous post.
Sign on the Spanish side of the Bridge
I’ve found some interesting videos on Youtube that add a different angle.
Video 1 – Aerial view
This video shows an aerial view of the Minho River and Melgaço.
It begins with the River and the international bridge between Spain and Portugal.
At 0:42 you can see the rural Hotel “Quinta do Reguengo”
At 1:09 it shows the Sports Complex
You can get a good view of the town with the castle tower standing out at 2:30
Video 2 – Bridge Jumping
I’ve talked about the practice of extreme sports in Melgaço in my “Melgaço Radical” post.
Here’s a video of some people jumping from the International bridge if you’re feeling brave today.
Video 3 – RC helicopter films the Monte de Prado Hotel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7IXtENrSHc
This video shows the “Monte de Prado” Hotel located in the Sports Complex and near the river.
This year the City Hall took a different approach in regards to Christmas decoration in Melgaço. It’s no secret that the Portuguese government is cutting on a lot of unnecessary expense this year and it seems the local city hall added some ecological thinking to it and the result is that this year we have the streets decorated with plastic bottles, cans, wires and old CDs. Hope they saved the taxpayers money with this. Watch the photos and judge the results for yourself in the comments section.
For more information about Melgaço please visit the other posts in this category.
Photos taken in December 13th 2010
Mountain road in Melgaço
If you like mountain landscapes there’s a lot for you to see in the areas surrounding Melgaço.
It is not the tallest mountains in Portugal but some peaks can reach over 1300m (more than 4200 feet). And I think you’ll enjoy the views and the characteristic boulders covering some mountains.
As you go up you’ll clearly notice the changing of the vegetation and that there are no trees above a certain altitude. There are some water courses and brooks to be found and the locals do know some remote swimming places.
There are multiple ways to explore: hiking, by car, by motorbike, by bicycle, by buggy…
Buggy tours
There’s a local company that rents buggies and has buggy tours in some interesting trails in the mountains. Their official site is in Portuguese only but you can contact them by e-mail or web form at http://www.kart-cross-portugal.com/SobreNos/contacto
For more information about the municipality of Melgaço please check the Index page or my first post about Melgaço.
Other links: KartCross Melgaço (in Portuguese); Portugal Nature National Parks
Melgaço Radical” is a group dedicated to explore the natural values of Melgaço and its multiple opportunities for adventure and sports. The mountains and the Minho River provide the conditions for activities like Rafting, Hiking, Canyoneering, Paintball and others.
Rafting in December
Rafting for example is practiced throughout the year with a 30€ price for person (discounts for groups).
Canyoning
Unfortunately their site is only available in Portuguese but you can surely e-mail them at geral@melgacoradical.com .
For more information about the municipality of Melgaço please check the Index page or my first post about Melgaço.
Other links: Melgaço Radical official site (Portuguese) ; more photos
Aerial View
The Melgaço Sports and Leisure Complex was inaugurated in the end of 2001. It features areas for professional sports training (stadium, synthetic field, indoor sports arena, athletics track, and tennis courts) and also for relaxation during holidays (children’s playground, hotel, youth hostel, minigolf, swimming-pool, SPA). It is an excellent place for training because of its quiet location in the middle of nature, with pinewood forest and the Minho River surrounding it. It was one of the official training centers of the UEFA Euro 2004.
Several teams have chosen this Sports Center, some of them more than once, for example:
Helpful Links: Melgaço Sport Center official page; Melgaço Sport Center youth Hostel official page; Google Maps (location) ; Sport Center’s Hotel (Booking.com)
Here are some photos of the Christmas lights in the streets of Melgaço. Some of the photos were taken in the same places of previous Melgaço posts. Hope you like them, Merry Christmas everyone.
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