Want to get off the beaten track in Portugal? Take the ultimate road trip through mountain villages

04.12.2023 - 00:17 / euronews.com / Ruth Wright

Many travellers set off on a trip hoping it will be unique to them. Eager to be the first to discover hidden gems, away from the bustling crowds and overtouristed sights.

My husband and I were these travellers on our first ever trip to Portugal this autumn. We wanted to take in vistas from empty roads, stopping off along the way to explore small cities and mountain villages.

While open to detours, we set ourselves a route we planned to loosely follow. We went from Lisbon to Porto to Monsanto to Evora and then back to Lisbon.

What we saw along the way did not disappoint. From picture postcard views to unforgettable meals, here's what we found.

Choosing to stay inland before heading to the island of Berlenga led us to Lourinhã, an hour north of Lisbon, where we stayed in a converted ancient windmill and discovered the region's famous brandy. 

As the only visitors to the facility that day, we were treated to a private tour of Adega Cooperativa da Lourinhã, one of only three demarcated brandy regions in Europe, the others being Armagnac and Cognac. 

The English-speaking guide and her school-age son showed us around the aging barrels, before dipping bottles of 'aguardiente' into red wax to seal them.

We next ventured via ferry to the island of Berlenga, about 10 km off the fishing village of Peniche. It's a pink chunk of granite jutting out of the turquoise-to-emerald-green waters of the Atlantic, home to a vast array of seabirds.

Most visitors come in the morning and leave in the early evening, but we decided to stay overnight. The handful of rooms available offer exquisite views of the water, with schools of fish visible even from high above - a dreamy sunset viewing spot.

After a few days back in the tourist crowds in Porto, we took the long way to Monsanto, near the Spanish border, choosing a route through the Parque Nacional da Serra da Estrela.

Stopping at the hilltop village of Belmonte, we discovered a 12th century castle, a historic Jewish population and some of the best cheese of our trip. What we thought would be a basic lunch at a non-descript taverna ended up being a great meal at a shop that sold wheels of Serra sheep cheese made by the owner's cousin, and wine made by the owner himself. It was an afternoon stop that could easily have merited a few days' exploration.

We arrived in the late afternoon at our Airbnb just below Monsanto, a magical mountaintop village where residents built their abodes in and around massive boulders.

The caretaker of the inn suggested we explore the nearby village of Pehna Garcia, where there is a castle, ancient water mills and fossils to discover. Our main objective, though, was the swimming hole nestled beneath the steep rocky hillside. We ate a few bites of our picnic