Saturday 7 November 2020

PENEDA-GERÊS NATIONAL PARK

 



PENEDA-GERÊS
NATIONAL PARK
41° 49′ 50.57″ N, 8° 14′ 19.21″ W

The Peneda-Gerês National Park is a protected area in Portugal and is located in the extreme northwest of Portugal, on the border between Minho, Trás-os-Montes, and Galicia. Its territorial perimeter covers the entire vast forest territory that stretches from Serra da Peneda to Serra do Gerês - hence its name -, also encompassing Serra do Soajo and Serra Amarela. It is cut by two large rivers, the Rio Lima and Cávado, and covers the districts of Braga (municipality of Terras de Bouro), Viana do Castelo (municipality of Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez, and Ponte da Barca), and Vila Real (municipality of Montalegre) , in a total area of ​​about 70 290 hectares, which affect the territory of 22 parishes. This Protected Area forms, since 1997, with the Spanish natural park of Baixa Limia - Serra do Xurés, the Gerês-Xurés Transfrontier Park, and the Biosphere Reserve with the same name.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park is considered by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve in order to enable "the conservation of soil, water, flora, fauna, and landscape".

It is one of the biggest natural attractions in Portugal, due to the rare and impressive landscape beauty, the ecological and ethnographic value, and the variety of fauna (Iberian ibex, roe deer, garranos, wolves, birds of prey) and flora (pine, yew, chestnut, oaks, and various medicinal plants). It extends from the Serra do Gerês, to the South, passing through the Serra da Peneda to the Spanish border.
It includes stretches of the Roman road that connected Braga to Astorga, known as Geira. In the park are located two important pilgrimage centers, the Nossa Senhora da Peneda Sanctuary, a replica of the Bom Jesus de Braga sanctuary, and the São Bento da Porta Aberta sanctuary, a place of great popular devotion.




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