Fafe

Follow now a circuitous route through some beautiful scenery to the Peneda-Gerês National Park. Leave Guimarães on N101 south back toward Amarante and then bear left on N206 toward Fafe. If you’re paying attention to the map, you’ll notice that this is not the most direct route to your destination, but it takes you through some unforgettable country. São Romao de Aroes has an early 13th-century Romanesque church, and the picturesque little village of Fafe has some handsome 18th- and 19th-century mansions built by families who returned after making their fortunes in colonial Brazil. Another 28 kilometers through beautiful landscape brings Arco de Baulho into view, where you turn left on N205, coming next to the ancient settlement of Cabeceiras de Basto, with a large monastery built mostly in the 18th century (though founded much earlier). Soon you arrive at the Nossa Senhora do Porto Reservoir on the River Ave, after which you pass through several quaint villages before reaching Póvoa de Lanhoso where there is a ruined 12th-century castle with stellar views from its hilltop perch.