Considered a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and the only one in Portugal, the Peneda- Gerês National Park, is a territory distinguished by the integration of the network of the “PAN Parks” foundation and comprised of more than 70 thousand hectares in the Portuguese Northwest. It is made up of the counties of Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca, Terras de Bouro and Montalegre. A vast area that runs along the Spanish natural park of the Lower Limia - Serra do Xures, and constitutes the Gerês-Xurés Transfrontier Park.
Created in 1971, the Park is an amphitheater made by geology, and sculpted by the wind. It extends from the Castro Laboreiro plateau to the Mourela plateau, encompassing the Peneda Soajo, Amarela and Gerês mountains. A breathtaking landscape, offering the visitor all of its diversity, from imposing granite escarpments, to bucolic valleys of greenery, where abundant cascades of clear water flow, full of life. In this sacred land, life is, moreover, queen and mistress. About ten thousand people live in these small villages, with an architecture marked by terraces and a deep sense of community, built around the town square and the granaries.
The presence of man, lost in time, bearing witness of his occupation here since the Neolithic period can be found in various markings throughout the region. A remarkable and exemplary monument is the Roman road between the cities of Bracara Augusta and Astorga, which survives on a stretch with the famous milestones.
Here you can still find ecosystems in their natural state and several autochthonous races. The forests of Ramiscal, Albergaria, Cabril, the entire upper valley of the Rio Man and the Serra do Gerês itself are treasures of incomparable landscapes. All this wealth gives shelter to rare fauna, such as the Iberian wolf, the boar, the mountain goat, wild buckthorn, royal eagle, marten, lusitana salamander; and various other varieties of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
This is the land of Minho!
The natural wealth of the region is not limited to the precious treasure that is the Peneda-Gerês. The entire province of Minho offers a multiplicity of landscapes integrated into a network of natural areas distinguished by the harmony of their ecosystems. The Minho is a land of imposing mountains and bucolic valleys, a land of sea and waves, of sand, of rivers and crystalline streams, this is mother earth in its most genuine and almost intact splendor.
This is the homeland of the origins of Portugal, the affirmation of borders and national independence, a land of forts and fortresses, of walls and castles. This is the land of the city-birthplace, of Guimarães, and its historical center which is a UNESCO recognized world heritage site. This is the land of the monumental and ever young city of the archbishops, the millenarian Bracara Augusta, one of the oldest Christian cities in the world. This is the land of Viana do Castelo of boats and navigators who explored land to be cleared. The land of passage and of the paths of St. James Way leading to Santiago de Compostela; of palaces and Monasteries; of churches, chapels and river cruises. Land of folklore and handicrafts, fairs, festivals and pilgrimages, of traditions and culture, of unique gastronomy, with unique flavors (and traditional regional dishes from Sarrabulho to baked cod, to lamprey and Barrosã goat) and of sweets and pastries that are nearly impossible to resist.
Land of the famed green wine, exclusive to the region (pay special attention to the Alvarinho!). This is the land, the land of Minho! A land of open arms, where heritage illustrates a journey of civilization, a journey that took place over millennia, where Nature, traditions and culture shape the soul of a loyal, hardworking, and adventurous people. A land where you will feel like seeing and living, of looking and of feeling.
We are in Minho!
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