Portugal day 17: Serra da Estrela Natural Park.

Submitted by maria on Fri, 25/09/2020 - 19:56

We get up early, we want to get to Manteigas to start from there a hiking route known as the Zezere Glacier Valley route, considered another of the seven natural wonders of Portugal.

Zezere Glacier Valley route

The road to Manteigas from Sabugueiro is beautiful but it takes half an hour to drive twenty kilometres. First we take the CM1125 and then the N232.

Manteigas is a large village, famous for its sulphurous waters. There are several supermarkets and shops. From here there are several routes to beautiful places such as Penhas Douradas or the well known Trilhos Verdes, a network of marked trails such as the wild boar route, the Poço do Inferno or the Zezere Glacier Valley.

New friends

The route of the Glacial Valley of the Zezere River was a finalist of the seven natural wonders of Portugal. It is about seventeen kilometres long with an eight-hundred-metre ascent. It runs parallel to the river Zezere, at the beginning it is a wide path from which you can see typical shepherds' shelters. We start from the spa of Caldas de Manteigas on the Caminho das Lameiras.

Zezere Glacier Valley route

We come across a herd of goats and their shepherd, a very friendly man dressed in traditional clothes, who offers us some pears. He is very tall and has huge hands. He spends the day with his herd of goats.

Herd of goats

Goatherd

We continue to the bridge and cross the river, now the path narrows. We pass in front of a pastoral building with curious sculptures.

Zezere Glacier Valley route

We get as far as the road and turn back. We see our friend the shepherd again and a trio of dogs come with us, two of them go away but the smallest one stays with us, luckily his owner appears. He is a cutie.

Sculptures

Zezere Glacier Valley route

On the way back to Manteigas we had a beer at Casa da Árvore, a small kiosk with a small terrace in front of the tourist information point.

Manteigas

We take the car and drive along the N338 to Covao d'Ametade where the Zezere river starts, a very nice picnic park.

Covao d´Ametade

We continue to the Glacier Valley with magnificent views. We cross the Estrela tunnel carved into the rock to Nossa Senhora da Boa Esrels located in Covao do Boi, a large sculpture carved into the rock.