Day tours in Oporto & surroundings
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Program
8:00 Pick Up at the Hotel - 10:30 Arrival to Seia and visit to a Regional Cheese Factory
11:30 Arrival and visit to the Serra da Estrela Natural Park - Lagoa Comprida + Ski Resort + Tower
(1993m). Free time at a snow site.
13:30 Arrival to Sabugueiro. Lunch (not included). Visite to Regional Handcraft Shops.
15:30 Departure to Porto
18:30 Arrival to Porto
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Description
Serra da Estrela is a rural tourist destination, and the main skiing resort in Portugal. There is a national park, with peaks reaching nearly 2000 metres. The
area is ideal for nature lovers and ski enthusiasts. The Serra da Estrela is overlooked and guarded by the national park's highest peak, 'A Torre', which also
happens to be the highest peak in Portugal at almost 2000 metres of altitude. In this region the activities on offer are ample, from skiing and snowboarding
to summer hiking. It’s also worth noting the region has a famous and unique cheese, 'Queijo da Serra', which is well worth sampling during your stay in the
area. The region also has numerous towns worth visiting such as Seia, Sabugueiro, Lagoa Comprida, Torre.
Seia (532m/1,745ft) has a parish church on a hill with a view, overlooking the township. Visit to a regional factory of the creamy sheep cheese, one
Portuguese consumers favourite. Also, In the Bread Museum of Seia, a real success in Portugal, we are able to watch the bread cycle and its bakery process.
Sabugueiro - Situated at the heart of Serra da Estrela Natural Park, this is the highest inhabited village of Portugal, situated at an altitude of 1200 m. The
village began to be a group of huts, inhabited by shepherds, who brought here their sheep and goats. Today this is a busy winter spot with many shops and
restaurants that welcome tourists. The village has plenty to offer to its visitors: granite houses, waterfalls in the surroundings and panoramic views over
unique mountain vegetation. It is also famous for the trade of Serra Cheese, sausages and other local handicraft products. The village has also an
ethnographical museum, a community oven, water mills, a main church and the fountain Fonte do Ferreiro. Some of the points of interest are also the local
handicraft stores.
We pass by Lagoa Comprida, an old glacial lagoon. It´s a good place for a short brake, it’s the most beautiful lagoon in the mountain.
Torre (English: Tower) is a monument that marks the highest point of Mainland Portugal. This point is not a distinctive mountain summit, but rather the
highest point in a mountain range. Torre has an unusual feature of being a summit that is accessible by paved road. This tower also gives its name to the
locality where it is situated, the highest place of that mountain range.
The actual elevation of this area is 1,993 metres (6,637 feet). Right in the highest point of the mountain range, situated in the middle of a roundabout, near a
road that connects the cities of Seia and Covilhã, a geodesic mark shows the highest point. Near Torre, there is a restaurant, stores with typical products of
this region, like the Serra da Estrela cheese, and a ski center. In winter this is a popular ski resort and has a cable-car ski-lift. The main resort is based
around Loriga town. In summer, these pastures are home to the dairy cattle from whose milk is made the famous Serra da Estrela Cheese.
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...Serra da Estrela (English: Mountain Range of the Star) is the highest mountain range in Portugal and includes
mainland Portugal's highest point. The range is at 1,993 m (around 6,541 feet) above mean sea level at its
highest point. This point is not a distinctive mountain summit, but rather the highest point in a plateau, being
known as Torre ("Tower" in English). The Torre has the unusual feature of being a summit that is accessible by
paved road. The mountain range, situated between the municipalities of Seia, Manteigas, Gouveia, Guarda and
Covilhã, is about 100 km (62.13 miles) long and is 30 km (18.64 miles) at its widest point. It is formed from a
huge granite ridge that once formed the southern frontier of the country. Due to its bizarrely shaped crags and
gorges, mountain streams and lakes, beautiful forests and magnificent views, the area ranks among Portugal’s
outstanding scenic attractions and a year-round resort area....
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