Walk the Serra da Lousã

Walking

Walk the Serra da Lousã - Coentral, Castanheira de Pera

Date: 10 September 2011 - 9.30am meetup - 10am start - Meetup Coentral.

Walk length - 5 or 6km (1.5 - 2hrs)

Dogs welcome (leads needed for the village parts)

Price for lunch - €10.00 (inclusive of 3 courses and drinks)

Items needed - walking shoes and water if it is hot

This months walk will be in and around the famous mountain top village of Coentral, just above Castanheira de Pera in the stunning Serra da Lousa and we are grateful to Peter Wilton-Davies and Helen Gray for putting this together for us. You can find out more about them and their life in Portugal from their blog http://helenandpeterinportugal.blogspot.com/.

The quiet village's claim to fame are the Neveiros (Snow Men) who back in the 17th century collected the winter snow in purpose built round snow houses, compacted it and then in the summer transported it to the Royal court in Lisbon. The snow houses can still be visited and the traditions are carried on by the present day folklore group, the Neveiros do Coentral, who were in the recent folklore finals on national television.

The walks starts in the main square of Coentral and winds through it's sleepy lanes and into the ancient chestnut woods and follows the path of the levada (irrigation channels) to a high meadow. From there we will follow a route through the forests along the side of the mountain to the neighboring village of Coentral das Barreiras. There we decend to the valley floor and can cross a roman bridge and follow the old roman road back into the Coentral.

There are two ends to the route to chose from, depending on your energy and need for coffee. We will meet back in the main square where there is a cafe.

We will then decend the valley, by car, to Castanheira de Pera, where we will be lunching at the very popular Churrasqueira Castanheirense. There we will have the choice of the daily meat or fish specials along with their range of grilled dishes.