Gorgeous mountains, a Baroque sanctuary and a city divided by a ravine.
It was another day of a lot of driving. I started the day in the mountains and ended up at Vila Real, making a stop in Lamego.
Serra da Estrela
Serra da Estrela (Star Mountains) are the highest mountain range in mainland Portugal. The highest point is 1,993 m (6,539 ft). You can drive to the highest point. It was fogged in the day I went through, so I didn’t bother. Going up the mountains on the east, I had the best visibility. It was fogged over at the top and it was raining on the other side. The views at the start were totally worth it.
Wandering Jana Sunrise and fog as I was climbing up.
Wandering Jana I stayed in the city below, Covilhã. It was very annoying to drive there. Lots of switchbacks.
Wandering Jana Lago do Viriato. The mountains contain a lot of reservoirs like this one.
Wandering Jana The fog couldn’t make up its mind.
Wandering Jana Gorgeous area.
Wandering Jana Highly recommend taking a drive through here.
Wandering Jana Wonderful views.
Wandering Jana The fog is returning.
Wandering Jana Foggy and snowy.
Lamego
A couple of hours north of the mountains is Lamego. It’s a small city known for its Baroque sanctuary. I didn’t spend a ton of time in Lamego, but I did see the sanctuary, the castle and briefly the cathedral.
Wandering Jana Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, from the city’s main plaza. There’s a church at the top, with a grand staircase to climb to get there.
Wandering Jana I cheated and drove to the top when I was coming into town.
Wandering Jana I had planned to climb the stairs from the bottom, but my legs were already angry from the day before.
Wandering Jana Such a grand facade for such a small church.
Wandering Jana Capela do Espirito Santo and its fountain.
Wandering Jana A long plaza with a focus on the sanctuary.
Wandering Jana The Cathedral of Lamego.
Wandering Jana I got there as it was closing.
Wandering Jana At least the castle wasn’t too far up.
Wandering Jana A typical Portuguese street. Always a leg killing angle.
Wandering Jana Almost there.
Wandering Jana A love this old building.
Wandering Jana Finally made it, the Castle of Lamego. It’s free of charge to enter, but there’s not much in there.
Vila Real
Vila Real is located in central Northern Portugal. The city was built on a plateau, with very steep gorges diving the town. It’s a pretty typical Portuguese city, but with hiking trails in the middle. I had planned to go into the gorge until I saw it. My legs were even angrier after that hike up to Lamego’s castle.
Wandering Jana Many Portuguese cities were built haphazardly. Roads connect at weird angles, leading to this amazing corner buildings. They are often churches or chapels.
Wandering Jana A shopping street quiet on a Sunday afternoon.
Wandering Jana São Pedro, a gorgeous Baroque church. Too bad it wasn’t open.
Wandering Jana A bit different.
Wandering Jana Igreja do Calvário, covered in azulejos. It wasn’t open due to a funeral.
Wandering Jana Capela Nova, a gorgeous Baroque weird corner church.
Wandering Jana Igreja da Misericórdia. Vila Real has a ton of these.
Wandering Jana That’s an awesome window.
Wandering Jana The Cathedral of Vila Real.
Wandering Jana Awesome doorway.
Wandering Jana A very compact cathedral.
Wandering Jana A Portuguese mail box looking very British. Turns out that the United Kingdom exported their pillar boxes to other countries.
Wandering Jana Interesting building.
Wandering Jana So cute!
Wandering Jana A very Baroque City Hall.
Wandering Jana There’s a cemetery at the southern point of the plateau.
Wandering Jana My favorite kind of Portuguese mausoleums are the ones that look like little houses.
Wandering Jana There’s that gorge.
Wandering Jana Rivers still flow through the gorges.
Wandering Jana There’s even a couple of waterfalls down there.
Had I not rented a car, I would not have visited the places listed above. They aren’t big tourist areas, except for the mountains, but they were fun to explore.
Tune in for my next update where I head back to Spain and visit Zamora!
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