National Park Pineda Geres (Parque Natural da Peneda Geres) description and photos - Portugal: Braga (Topic)

National Park Pineda Geres (Parque Natural da Peneda Geres) description and photos - Portugal: Braga. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Parque Natural da Peneda Geres.

Photo and description

In northeastern Portugal, between Alto Minho and Tras us Montes, the Serra de Pineda and Serra de Geres mountain ranges form the only nature conservation area in Portugal that classified as a National Park.

The Geres National Park, or the park is also called simply Geres, attracts visitors with its picturesque landscapes and diverse flora and fauna. On the territory of the park there are medieval castles (in Castro Laboreiro and Lindoso), it will also be interesting to look at the ruins of the 12th century monastery in Pitois dash Juniyash and learn a lot of interesting things about ancient values and traditions. The open-air museum in Vilarinho das Furnas, a village that was flooded during the construction of a dam in 1971, is worth visiting.

It is believed that the first human settlements near the Serra de Geres mountain range appeared about 6 thousand years BC, as evidenced by the found dolmens and other megalithic tombstones. A Roman road ran through the northern part of the country, which connected the Roman cities of Astorga and Brakkara Augusta; it has been fragmentarily preserved to this day. The settlement of Serra de Geres began in the 12th century, and in the 16th century, with the emergence of crops such as maize, legumes and potatoes, which were brought from America, settlements began to grow more intensively.

The national park was created in May 1971. The total area of the park is 702.9 square kilometers, of which 194.38 square kilometers are private property, 52.75 square kilometers are owned by the state, and the remaining 455 square kilometers are open to tourists. The park is shaped like a giant amphitheater and is surrounded by mountain ranges, which form a barrier between the plains in the west and the plateau in the east. The granite rocks of the mountains were formed about 310 million years ago. The park has an oak forest, among which there are rare species of these trees, a riparian forest. Portuguese laurels, strawberry trees, birches grow. Among the forest dwellers, there are brown bears, mountain goats and many other animal species.

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Topic: National Park Pineda Geres (Parque Natural da Peneda Geres) description and photos - Portugal: Braga.