Walking in Portugal. Simon Whitmarsh

      Simon Whitmarsh and Andrew Mok are both keen walkers, covering over 2000km a year. They have walked extensively in Britain, doing (at least part) of all the major trails, have hiked across England twice, and have walked in most countries in Europe. More recently their addiction to mountains has increased, with treks in the US (including many parts of the Appalachian Trail), Australia, New Zealand, Andrew’s native Hong Kong, Nepal (Everest Base Camp) and Pico, the highest mountain in Portugal, which is in the Azores.

      They are both doctors – a consultant paediatrician and a general practitioner – who decided to write this book after being delighted and astounded by the walking opportunities of Portugal.

      When not travelling, they enjoy finding new routes near their village in Snowdonia.

      © Andrew Mok and Simon Whitmarsh 2018

      First edition 2018

      ISBN: 978 1 85284 889 7

      Printed by KHL Printing, Singapore

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated.

       Route mapping by Lovell Johns www.lovelljohns.com

      Contains OpenStreetMap.org data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA. NASA relief data courtesy of ESRI

      Acknowledgements

      We would like to thank our publisher for giving two untried and inexperienced writers this exciting opportunity. Also to the staff at various Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) offices and tourist information bureaux for their assistance, to the complete strangers encountered on these walks for offers of sustenance, and most importantly to the people of Portugal for being so welcoming.

      Additional thanks to our friends and family for help and forbearance.

      Updates to this guide

      While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/889/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time.

      The route maps in this guide are derived from publicly available data, databases and crowd-sourced data. As such they have not been through the detailed checking procedures that would generally be applied to a published map from an official mapping agency, although naturally we have reviewed them closely in the light of local knowledge as part of the preparation of this guide.

      We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL, United Kingdom.

      Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk.

      Front cover: Walking towards the summit of Poios Brancos with views of the pitchers surrounding Torre, the highest point in mainland Portugal (Walk 24)

      CONTENTS

       Overview map

       Map key

       Preface

       INTRODUCTION

       About Portugal

       Geology

       History

       Wildlife

       Plants and flowers

       Agriculture

       Weather

       When to go

       Getting there

       Travelling around

       Where to stay

       Food and drink

       Equipment

       Waymarking

       Maps

       Water

       Emergencies and safety

       Using this guide

       NORTHERN PORTUGAL

       Peneda-Gerês National Park

       Walk 1 Caminho dos Mortos, Real

       Walk 2 Trilho Castrejo, Castro Laboreiro

       Walk 3 Peneda circuit

       Walk 4 Pertinho do Ceu, Gavieira

       Walk 5 Bicos and Pedrada