Barroso – Geres Bike Tour
Total distance: 342 km
Cumulative gap: +5672/-5355
Duration: 8 days/ nights
Difficulty Level: heavy (4/5)
Best Season: May – October
Price: on request
Program
D1: Porto – Régua (morning) – 1h30 by train
Régua – V.P. de Aguiar (afternoon) – 54km | +950m/- 152m | heavy
D2: V.P: de Aguiar – Chaves – 46km | +220m/ -780m | easy
D3: Chaves – Negrôes – 48km | +1075m/-544m | heavy
D4: Alto Rabagão (circular) – 41km | + 475m / – 475m | median
D5: Alturas do Barroso (circular) – 30km | +540m / -540m | moderated
D6: Negrões – Pitões da Júnias – 38km | +640m/ -435m | moderated
D7: Couto Mixto (circular) – 39km | +855m/-855m | heavy
D8: Pitões de Júnias – Fafião – 46km | +922m/ -1534m | heavy
Biking from Barroso to Gerês
This cycling tour starts at the Douro valley, crosses the Barroso area and ends at the Peneda-Gerês National Park.
Beside the various interesting aspects this region has to show us, the soft mountain range of the surroundings makes it a perfect place for a bike ride. The difficulty levels vary between moderate (2/5) and difficult (3/5) with some heavy passages (4/5). The major part of the ride take place on secondary roads and some land roads with regular pavement and very light traffic. The traffic is light on national roads which we occasionally use.
This bike ride is memorable for it’s tranquil beautiful scenery, the welcome of the local inhabitants, gastronomical delights and it’s particular culture.
The Barroso area is Agriculture World Heritage
The isolated position of the region, together with its resilient inhabitants towards the social transformations, technological evolutions and climate changes, made the FAO get to this classification.
The agriculture practices are based on family and community aid. It develops itself in symbiosis with the ecosystem creating a agriculture scenery of rare beauty confounding with the natural and well preserved landscape of the region where biodiversity is evidently present.
The cultural aspect of Barroso, due to its isolation and the proximity of the boarder with Galicia, shows some peculiar characteristics like:
The community based living style, by sharing their manpower, the community oven, the mills, the threshing floors and the package stores, is notable in every village.
The gastronomy, based on traditional products of high quality like the beef meat, the smoked pork meat, the rye bread, the honey and some specific vegetables are available in abundance.
The secular knowledge of traditional medicine practices, which is tangled to the mystic and the witchcraft, is still visible through the enthusiasm with which Friday’s the 13th are celebrated…
When the devil breaks out….
Additional activities
It is possible to practice other activities in this area, such us canyoning and trekking. If wanted these activities can be scheduled in the program by adding more days or reducing the biking days.
For more information please contact info@tugarbybike.com
