It is located in the extreme northwest of Portugal, in the border area between Minho, Trás-os-Montes and Galicia
The Peneda-Gerês National Park is a protected area in Portugal, with administrative, financial autonomy and legal capacity, created in 1971, in the Peneda-Gerês environment.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park has a territorial perimeter that covers the entire vast forest territory that extends from Serra da Peneda to Serra do Gerês, Serra do Soajo and Serra Amarela.
Gerês Park is crossed by two large rivers, the Lima and Cávado Rivers, which cover the districts of Braga (municipality of Terras de Bouro), Viana do Castelo (municipality of Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca) and Vila Real (municipality of Montalegre), in a total area of around 70,290 hectares that affect the territory of 22 parishes.
Since 1997, the Protected Area forms part of the Spanish natural park of Baixa Limia (Serra do Xurés), the Gerês-Xurés Transfrontier Park, and the Biosphere Reserve with the same name.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park is considered by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve, enabling the conservation of soil, water, flora, fauna and landscape.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park, due to its rare and impressive landscape beauty, ecological and ethnographic value and variety of fauna (Iberian ibex, roe deer, garrons, wolves, birds of prey) and flora (pines, yews, chestnut trees, oaks and various medicinal plants) is one of Portugal's greatest natural attractions.
The Park extends from Serra do Gerês to the south, passing through Serra da Peneda to the Spanish border.
In the park there are two important pilgrimage centers, the “Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Peneda”, a replica of the sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Braga, and “São Bento da Porta Aberta”, a place of great popular devotion.
In the locations inside the park, daily life maintains firm roots in Portuguese rural tradition.
Some places of greater tourist value such as Castro Laboreiro stands out for its medieval castle (Castelo de Castro Laboreiro) and is known for the Castro Laboreiro dog breed.
Lindoso stands out for having the largest cluster of ancient granaries in the Iberian Peninsula, and for its 13th century castle (Castelo de Lindoso).
Pitões das Júnias are formed by ruins of the Monastery of Santa Maria das Júnias, built in 1147.
Soajo is a village with a large cluster of old granaries set on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Lima River valley.
Vilarinho das Furnas is a village submerged by the construction of the Vilarinho das Furnas Dam on the Homem River.
Fafião is a picturesque village that stands out for its ancient popular architecture and ancient traditions that are still preserved.
In Fafião, among the cliffs and stark precipices of the magnificent Serra do Gerês, we find the Fojo do Lobo, which is made up of a series of stone walls built in the Middle Ages that served as a wolf trap.
Pincães is a place that stands out for the beauty of its surroundings with its green meadows, its fields of olive trees and its tranquility.
Xertelo is a village nestled against the mountains made up of an agro-pastoral community, crop fields, a cube and levada mill, puddles and community livestock.
Currently, the Peneda-Gerês National Park has around 240 species of vertebrate fauna identified in the territory and 1100 species of flora, and 500 sites of historical and archaeological interest.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park has a territorial perimeter that covers the entire vast forest territory that extends from Serra da Peneda to Serra do Gerês, Serra do Soajo and Serra Amarela.
Gerês Park is crossed by two large rivers, the Lima and Cávado Rivers, which cover the districts of Braga (municipality of Terras de Bouro), Viana do Castelo (municipality of Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca) and Vila Real (municipality of Montalegre), in a total area of around 70,290 hectares that affect the territory of 22 parishes.
Since 1997, the Protected Area forms part of the Spanish natural park of Baixa Limia (Serra do Xurés), the Gerês-Xurés Transfrontier Park, and the Biosphere Reserve with the same name.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park is considered by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve, enabling the conservation of soil, water, flora, fauna and landscape.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park, due to its rare and impressive landscape beauty, ecological and ethnographic value and variety of fauna (Iberian ibex, roe deer, garrons, wolves, birds of prey) and flora (pines, yews, chestnut trees, oaks and various medicinal plants) is one of Portugal's greatest natural attractions.
The Park extends from Serra do Gerês to the south, passing through Serra da Peneda to the Spanish border.
In the park there are two important pilgrimage centers, the “Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Peneda”, a replica of the sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Braga, and “São Bento da Porta Aberta”, a place of great popular devotion.
In the locations inside the park, daily life maintains firm roots in Portuguese rural tradition.
Some places of greater tourist value such as Castro Laboreiro stands out for its medieval castle (Castelo de Castro Laboreiro) and is known for the Castro Laboreiro dog breed.
Lindoso stands out for having the largest cluster of ancient granaries in the Iberian Peninsula, and for its 13th century castle (Castelo de Lindoso).
Pitões das Júnias are formed by ruins of the Monastery of Santa Maria das Júnias, built in 1147.
Soajo is a village with a large cluster of old granaries set on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Lima River valley.
Vilarinho das Furnas is a village submerged by the construction of the Vilarinho das Furnas Dam on the Homem River.
Fafião is a picturesque village that stands out for its ancient popular architecture and ancient traditions that are still preserved.
In Fafião, among the cliffs and stark precipices of the magnificent Serra do Gerês, we find the Fojo do Lobo, which is made up of a series of stone walls built in the Middle Ages that served as a wolf trap.
Pincães is a place that stands out for the beauty of its surroundings with its green meadows, its fields of olive trees and its tranquility.
Xertelo is a village nestled against the mountains made up of an agro-pastoral community, crop fields, a cube and levada mill, puddles and community livestock.
Currently, the Peneda-Gerês National Park has around 240 species of vertebrate fauna identified in the territory and 1100 species of flora, and 500 sites of historical and archaeological interest.
