The castle of Lindoso is classified as a National Monument and stands on a small rocky outcrop beside the village of the same name. Well worth a visit, it was built during the reign of Afonso III, with bulwarks and other defensive works from the 17th century.
The museum is inside the castle. In the hall is a collection of armoury on loan from the Museu Militar in Porto. The pieces included in this collection span the 14th to 19th centuries. In the Sala do Forno are archaeological relics, covering the prehistoric era to the modern period. All exhibits are taken from archaeological digs around Lindoso castle.
A small church with a granite façade and central bell tower.
The granaries in the village of Cidadelhe date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Many are architecturally excellent and blend perfectly with their surroundings. Used for drying and storing maize, they are rectangular, tall and narrow, of granite, with vertical walls.
Embroidery and lace are the mirror image of the soul belonging to their artists, who seek inspiration in nature, nature of contrasts, rustic or mild, earth or ocean, river or mountain, soft or hard tones of the sky, flowers, fish or birds.
The "Alto de Minho" is a region where the art of embroidery is an important and sorted wealth, which extends itself over the whole "Ribeira Lima" (Lima Riverside region), and where the embroiders and lace-makers transmit inheritance and tradition.
The embroidery in this region is very diverse, since the famous and traditional "regional garments", to the embroidery done with pieces of linen and cotton: Towels; cloths; tablecloths; handkerchiefs; etc, not forgetting the emotional "lover's handkerchief".
In Parada. reached via highway then a footpath. These twenty-one granaries, built around a central threshing floor, date from the 18th and 19th centuries. They are of the same variety as those found in Lindoso - rectangular in plan, of granite, with vertical walls, and used for drying and storing maize. Some have extremely delicate carvings.
An exceptional collection of 18th - and 19th - century granaries. Made entirely of granite, they are tall and narrow with vertical walls slotted from top to bottom. One granary, with horizontal slots, is one of the few specimens of this type anywhere in Portugal.
The gastronomy includes the famous Barrosã steak, which can be found in several places in the region. The papas de sarrabulho with farinhatos (boiled pig’s blood with cornbread), accompanied with rojões (chunks of pork) is a speciality of the Minho region and can easily be found around this village.
This cross stands near the granaries. Made of granite, with a high shaft and square base.
Although some of the species are now extinct, such as the brown bear and the mountain goat, the National Park still presents a very varied fauna, with important species like the wolf, the roe deer, the wild boar, the fox, the wild ferret and the otter.
Of special importance among the bird species are the endangered royal eagle, the kite, the woodland screech owl and the titmouse. Among the reptiles the most important are the rarely found Seoane viper and the horned viper, as well as the water snake, the water lizard and the green lizard. Amphibians of special note are the rare Lusitanian salamander, the tritons, the Iberian frog and the midwife toad.
The typical vegetation of the region is oak. It is almost always the black oak that predominates, coexisting with an impressive diversity of ferns, mosses, lichen, mushrooms and other plants such as the endangered holly.
There are woods where the Gerês lily can be found, but the plants are mostly heather, genista, gorse, broom, gramineous plants and juniper. This latter, like the woodland pine, the yew, the white birch and the rare Gerês fern, is a true relic of glacial flora. The varied climatic influences occasionally result in unexpected flora, with examples being the cork oak and the British oak. In the higher zones you can find areas that are always flooded, where the carnivorous plants, most particularly the "Orvalhinha", are a constant feature.
Oaks dominate most of the Gerês area. The woods can be divided into two different types of biotopes: the alvarinho oak woods and the black oak woods. The first are located in low altitud and warm valleys. Here, besides the alvarinho (Quercus robur), you can find the butcher’s broom (Ruscus lusitanica), arbutus-tree (Arbustus unedo) and the laurel cherry-tree (Prunus lusitanica), among others.
To get to the prehistoric rock carvings of Bouça do Colado, follow the E. N. 2003 (Ponte da Barca – Lindoso) just beyond Parada.
The carvings are in a reasonable state of preservation. The main composition is a monumental design with geometric and symbolic motifs. At the centre can be seen the head, breasts and abdomen of a woman, probably a cult idol. Seven of the surrounding rocks have carvings in the form of crosshatching, concentric circles and indentations.
Follow the E.N. 203 to Lindoso, then take the minor road in the direction of Muro. On the south-eastern bounds of the village of Porto Chão, a granite block broken in two with a number of carvings, mostly concentric circles and indentations.
For many centuries Lindoso played a key role in the defence of the Portuguese frontier. Its main attractions today are the castle, and one of the country's best preserved collections of granaries. Restoration work has recently been carried out here.
To get there, take the E.N. 203 (Ponte da Barca-Lindoso) to Lindoso, then the minor road leading to Muro.
An open mountain village, probably founded in the Middle Ages. Inside the village is an outcrop with carvings believed to date from the Early Bronze Age. The village itself consists of oblong houses lining a central thoroughfare.
The Garranos are small bay horses, descendants of the horses represented in the incisions inside the caves of Lascaux and Altamira. They derive therefore from a very ancient breed present in the Portuguese territory from prehistory, as seen in paintings of the Paleolithic era.
The wood work, gives gratifying memories to the people of "Alto Minho", not only in the experience with it at work, manifesting itself permanently in work activities, but also in cereal cultivation, especially with corn cribs or open baskets, to benefit their excellent drying qualities . It's raw material, characterises a population known for its subsistence on their own agriculture, which is hard and laborious.
"Arcos de Valdevez" and "Ponte da Barca" are the capitals of corn cribs, with examples of architectonic importance, emphasising the conjoined corn cribs of "Soajo" (Arcos de Valdevez) and "Lindoso" (Ponte da Barca) "half-and-half" with the "National Park of Peneda Gerês".
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