Manteigas

If time permits, the 70-kilometer round-trip excursion to the top of Torre Peak beyond Manteigas will guarantee unparalleled panoramas. (In winter the road is often closed by snow—inquire before you set out.) Along the way you pass through the unusual-looking, boulder-strewn glacial valley where the River Zezere is born. From Gouveia take N232 toward Manteigas. This is a tortuously winding mountain road and requires a careful approach, but it also has some remarkable views of the Serra. Partway up is a sign saying “Cabeca do Velho” (Old Man’s Head), and if you look to your right, following the arrow, you’ll notice a rock outcropping resembling the title given it. Watch also for a sign indicating the Nascente do Mondego, or the origin of the River Mondego, which flows east from here, then curls back west in a much larger form. Continue another 20 kilometers along this dramatic road following the River Zezere for truly impressive views of Manteigas in the valley below and of Torre, Portugal’s highest peak at 1,980 meters. While in this scenic area don’t fail to descend the switchback mountain road to the colorful town of Manteigas, set like a jewel amid one of the most striking settings imaginable. It’s situated at the head of a narrow valley surrounded on all sides by terraced farms stepping their way up the steep hillsides. Just west of town, as you enter the valley, a 6-kilometer detour to the left leads to the Poco do Inferno (the Well of Hell) where a waterfall flows wildly into a deep cave.