Peneda Gerês National Park

Golden mountains, green forests and majestic lake scenery are commonly seen on oil paintings featuring landscapes in Europe. These amazing sceneries do not simply appear in the creations of artists, but also in the Peneda-Gerês National Park at the northern boundary of the country.

The Peneda Gerês National Park, a nature reserve established by the government in 1971, is the only national park in Portugal. The natural environment is thus kept pristine. It serves as a perfect home for different animals, such as Iberian ibexes, western roe deer and Iberian wolves, and plants such as European yew and Spanish chestnut. Located amidst mountains with the Lima River flowing through, the park boasts captivating scenery that draws a ceaseless stream of visitors every year. Apart from landscapes, there are signs of early human settlements, including dolmens (a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb) dating back to the prehistoric period, Roman bridges built by ancient Romans, hundred-year-old warehouses for crops and more. If you come during fall days, the golden forest will be so dreamy as if you were walking into an oil painting.