A10

Lagoas de Drave

Description

The Drave ponds result from the confluence of two streams: the stream of Palhais, born in Portal do Inferno (hell’s gate) vicinity, northeast of Drave village; and the stream of Bouça, from the top of the Arada mountain, east of Drave village. The ponds are a number of wells dug in the rock that can be discovered along the stream of Palhais (also called the Drave river) till the Paivô river in a superb landscape marked by large gaps where the shale dominates. On the promontory between the two streams stands the magical village of Drave a recently abandoned village that holds all the beauty of popular architecture in these mountain schist villages. These remote valleys are home for rarities as diverse as the elusive pyrenean desman, the iberian wolf or the scaly lipfern that leverage, respectively, the clear streams of water, the forests of hardwoods, and thermophile outcrops to thrive. The sweet chestnut trees, several centuries old, prove the ancestry of this settlement. To get there, just walking, or from the village of Regoufe by the pedestrian trail of Aldeia Mágica (Magic Village trail, PR 14), which takes the old path carved into the rock that connected these two villages.

Localization

Coelheira

Technical information

  • Level of Dificulty Medium
  • Type of Route Wavy
  • Access Pedestrian Access, Car