From Monsanto we took back roads and stopped off in the towns of Sabugal, Sortelha and Belmonte, before heading into the heart of the Serra da Estrela. Apparently there are a number of old towns that the provincial government has listed as “historical” towns, and after having visited one or two, we detoured in order to visit a some more. While Sabugal claimed only a many towered castle, and Belmonte another tiny synagogue, Sortelha was definitely the star on this particular route.
The village is like a living museum with a smattering of residents. Completely walled-in with gates at opposite ends of the town, it overlooks vast areas from its higher vantage point. Fundamentally the castle is a ruin, but it still shows off its tall tower. It’s possible to scramble up and down the vertiginous steps, peeking over the solid walls into the countryside. Sortelha also has a tiny church, and a few wandering alleys, lined with solid stone constructions and, as we discovered in other towns, a communal oven. Olives and figs grow in small gardens bordered with stone walls. We’ve become adept at snagging fruit from the trees, even googling how to tell which figs are ripest! Once again, the restoration in the town is beautifully executed, with all utilities invisible, thus enhancing the sensation of being in another time.
We stopped for a bite to eat in Belmonte, which didn’t quite live up to the claim of being a “historical” town, or certainly not to the degree of Sortelha, so after driving around and by the closed synagogue, drove on into the mountains until we reached Manteigas.
Manteigas qua town is uniformly bland and uninteresting, but the surrounding mountains and valleys are beautifully situated. We found a small hotel in the lower valley, and secured some information about the hikes we had read were possible in the area from the hotel. While the information on different hikes has been published in beautiful, glossy pamphlets, none provide any clue as to where any of these delightful sounding walks start! Off we went to the center of the town, where we scraped sufficient information from the staff to send us off on one of the short jaunts circling the town. Signage was poor at best, but since we could see the town/valley most of the time, it was fairly easy to stay on track. We were, however, constantly distracted by the forests of delicious blackberries, which we picked like hungry bears. Further along we also came upon vineyards which proffered some extremely tasty grapes(both dark and light!).
On the following day we again fished for information from the hotel’s staff, and set off directly up the hill behind the hotel and had a beautiful hike up and then around and into the valley behind and back again, completing a great loop of about 5 hours. Since it was very hot during the middle of the day, we decided to forego further hikes, and save them for when we reach another National Park area in the north of the Minho Province.
If you’re wondering about us with the leaf get-up, it’s what we found worked best against the pesky flies!
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