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In order to undertake this circuit, you may choose to enter the Park in Mondim de Basto and then continue to the village of Ermelo, surrounded by woods and agricultural fields, that conserves an admirable set of rural architecture, where the walls of the local houses have been built using local stone.

The village received its charter in 1196, and conserves an elegant pillory, the church, a sacred way of enigmatic crosses and a set of corn granaries that were designed for storing cereals. You can round off your visit by a visit to the museum unit.

Continue your journey in direction towards Fojo and then to Varzigueto. At the entrance to this village, the river Olo winds its way towards a high waterfall in Fisgas de Ermelo, covering a drop of a round 300 m, surrounded by a grandiose landscape enveloped in a unique religious atmosphere.

The road between Varzigueto and the village of Barreiro offers unique spectacular views over the western horizon. Perched on top of a perfect geological column - the Monte da Farinha - we discover the Church of Senhora da Graça.

As you travel to Fervença, note the green and fertile valleys, cultivated in terraces. As in the Gerês region, this ancestral farming technique is intended to reduce erosion, while enabling farming activities. At the bottom of the valley, we glimpse the stream of Fervença. We then returned to Ermelo through the valley formed by the stream of Fervença, that has a mixture of oak trees and cork oak trees, in an almost Mediterranean forest area.

Sources: Alvão Nature Park /Institute of Nature Conservation