Quinta das Abelhas

Also see FREE TREES from Pure Portugal.

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This is a truly beautiful walk, through an area completely full of citrus trees. Surprising that such a large area is warm enough in the winter for oranges, this far north and that high up.

Most of the orange groves are in a state of disrepair and abandonment, which is a shame. According to a sign on the route, the orange groves have been there since the 1700s.

We passed several fontes, filling our water bottles at each.

And passed through some pretty run down villages, surrounded with old orange trees. There were oranges everywhere.

Before entering an area of orange trees and river. We continued so far, but it was getting late and we decided to return another day, earlier and with a packed lunch to walk the entire route, of 7kms.

The route is very well signposted, with yellow and green lines painted on rocks and walls to show the way.

This sign gave us a short detour to the river, and coincidentally another geocache that we didn’t manage to find. Just a bit further, where we decided to turn around, there was an area that stank of wild boar. I mean really stank, there must be plenty of boar in that grove!

The Rota dos Laranjais is definitely worth walking, if you are in the area.

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We took our visitors up to the Parque do Coração de Maria, near Casteloes, near Tondela, and did a bit of the Rota dos Laranjais. The church and park is very beautiful.

The views from up there are breath taking:

And these must be the bluest hydrangeas I have ever seen! The soil there must be either very acidic or contain a lot of aluminium.

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We couldn’t find it! The first one that we went to find, and we didn’t succeed. Fraga da Pena is a series of rockpools and waterfalls in the Serra do Açor, we’ve been several times before so didn’t find the scenery as awe-inspiring as if it were a new visit. If you are visiting the area, it is worth visiting with a picnic lunch and swim suits. That water is very cold though. This is the bottom pool, with a long waterfall falling into it.

Then you go over a rickety wooden bridge, and up stone steps. Watch that handrail, its loose in places.
There are small pools and falls all the way up.

Small stone ruins that were once working mills line the route of the water and path. Perhaps, one day, as oil gets more expensive, we’ll see these mills back in use? Here is a picture of a water channel that would have fed the mills with water to turn the mill-stones.

This pool is near the top. The water is so clean and pure, but very very cold.

I don’t understand how we didn’t find the geocache. The GPS said we were within 5 feet of it, but it was nowhere. Perhaps I’ll have another look, when we go there again. This time making sure it is earlier in the day, as it was getting late and cold in the shadow of the steep valley sides.

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