Athletes
Route variation
Standard loop
Gender category
Male
Style
Self-supported
Finish date
Total time
17h
7m
44s
Verification
GPS track(s)
GR1-Pais.gpx13.66 MB
Comments
Started at 1:30 am after a 5 hour car trip from Lisbon with 2 friends. Soajo is the coolest village to start this loop: has good roads and all amenities (awsome food and drink, the best corn bread in the world). Started the loop counter clockwise, in direction of the Portuguese-Spanish border, going up in a trail by the Peneda river. We've heard a lot of wolfs howling. Arrived at Peneda with warm weather. Peneda is a religious spot with no cell phone coverage. There, we went in a medieval pilgrimage trail up the mountain and the cold started to settle in. We've arrived near 6am at Branda das Bosgalinhas (Branda is a spot we're people live and have cattle for the harsh winter time) and a ladie was opening a cofee shop....took too long to have something warm to drink/eat, not worth it. After that Branda, there was snow and we found a baby cow freshly dead and some wolf and fox paw marks in the snow. Nice snowy and sunny trail until another Branda....Branda da Aveleira. This one is very pretty as all houses are set for touristic purposes, and even has a restaurant (opened by appointment), no snow after this part. After Aveleira is an awesome trail until Padrão and then the coolest stairs downhill into Sistelo, the "Portuguese Tibet" because of the landscape. We've stopped for a ham sandwich in Sistelo with cows entering the coffe shop we were in!
After Sistelo the trail is technical passing Lordelo and Avelar. In Avelar we go uphill by "Rota dos bicos" until the "Fojo da Cabrita" a place where local chased wolves sacrifiing a goat. No it's a cultural preserved rock construction and an important milestone as the trail divides in two and we have to go south. We have to be carefull as marks in this area are scarsed because landscape is arid.
Nice trails until Mezio, "The door to the Peneda-Gerês National Park" and then back to Soajo, where a good bath in a local hostal and the best, cheapest, dinner was served!!!
Aewsome trail in a awesome mountain.