Located on the slopes of the Montemuro mountain range, in the valley of Carvalhos a stream, the forest of Bugalhão presents itself as an impressive grove of hardwoods. Dominated mainly by sweet chestnut and pedunculate oak, many of them centuries old, it reaches an area of about 200 hectares being possibly one of the largest forests of its kind in Portugal. Legend goes that his curious name comes from a village that existed near the river of Carvalhosa, to which the people called “bugallion villa”, having been abandoned between the twelfth century and the fifteenth century due to poor air site. King D. Dinis, in one of his expeditions, went through there, calling it “dismantled village”.
Mature hardwood forests of Bugalhão benefit from a diversity of fauna and flora. Here we can find the beautiful feather pink, rare plant in Portugal that occasionally arises here around wetlands of these woods. The bullfinch, brightly colored bird that can be heard and seen through the woods, finds here its ideal habitat. In addition to the forest of Bugalhão, the valley of Carvalhosa stream presents a remarkable natural heritage. This stream, which rises near the village of Carvalhosa, covering the slopes of the Montemuro mountain, joins the Vidoeiro river and flows later into the Paiva river. Along its route, our stream forms some para disiacal places such as waterfalls, pools or canyons between the rocks. Following the valley of Carvalhosa one can enjoy other gems, like the almost infinite terraces that extend down the slopes, the result of centuries of relationship between people and their landscapes, or file irrigation marshes, which here also abound. This is an ancient technique which aims to keep the marshes always soaked in order to withstand the harsh cold winters. This type of traditional land management results in a considerable floristic diversity, allowing plants like heath spotted-orchid or great flower serapias to be part of the extensive floristic cast present in these highland marshes.
