Portugal // Hiking in Lousa

When planning our trip to Portugal, Lousa was not a destination that anyone had really recommended. It was, however, a place that promised great hiking which is something that we had been sorely missing in the flatlands of Holland. So after loving our time in Porto and stopping briefly to see the coastal town of Aviero, we headed inland towards the Serra da Lousa (the mountains of Lousa). Lousa is probably best know as the hometown of the Beirao Liquor distillery and so of course we had to have a few quick sips of this minty local treat while we got settled in there. We arrived in the late afternoon so day one here consisted of exploring the town and enjoying our awesome hidden gem of a hotel - Hotel Melia Palacio da Lousa. The town itself comes off as a sleepy, rural town with the big appeal being the excellent trails nearby. Most of the town had bland, high rise apartment buildings which looked strange and out of place next to beautifully decaying structures from earlier eras. Many properties had a few acres of land covered in veggie gardens and fruit trees and patrolled by stray cats. It sounds like a contradiction but the most dilapidated buildings in these parts of Portugal really are the most beautiful - layers of paint chip and fade together to make some amazing colors, cracked walls are covered in moss and ferns and missing windows show wild vines taking over a former living spaces.

Anyways, we were here to hike and hike we did. Day two started off cold and foggy as we headed out of town towards the Lousa Castle. The castle was where our 6km loop would start and end. It was clear from the get go that distance didn't matter much on this hike, elevation was going to be the real factor to pay attention to. The Castle stood on a spur ridge that stuck out into a super steep valley with a river at the bottom. Supposedly this valley was one of the only southern approaches for invaders looking to take the nearby capital of Coimbra so it was a big deal to have a fortress here. Not much was left of the castle, only a single tower and some of the outer wall. From there we decided to hike the loop clockwise and our next stop was the Schist town of Talasnal. This place was from another world - situated high up on the mountain, looking down into the valley. The town itself consisted of half restored stone house and half abandoned ruins. The stone houses were restored in ways that hid most modern features like plumbing or electricity. With some imagination, walking through here could make you feel like you had traveled back in time to the simpler days of churning butter or fearing invaders from the south. This place really was special and definitely a spot I would recommend visiting. Leaving this town we headed for Casal Novo, the next closest town. Between these two were more ruins by a small creek. We strayed off trail for a bit to explore the ruins in this side canyon - it was incredible to see an old stone dam, bridge, and staircases built right into the landscape. With no human living here anymore, the place appeared as a snapshot of nature peacefully reclaiming a lush piece of its territory.

At Casal Novo, we had a quick bite and started a pretty brutal decent back to the castle. Of yeah, about 90% of this hike was either flat or uphill leaving an intense section of downhill right at the end when our legs were already jelly. It was well worth it though as the final leg had plenty of sweet lookout points from where you could see well beyond Lousa to a flat horizon in the west. Back at the castle we explored the riverfront for a bit before calling it a day and heading back to Lousa.

The rest of our stay here had us enjoying some much needed sunshine, another thing we had been missing in the Netherlands. All in all this was the perfect stop as it allowed us to get off the beaten (tourist) path, get out into nature, and experience an authentic town in Portugal's interior. Plus, we stayed in an on 17th century refurbished palace that had the best interior decorating in the whole world (pillows with crocheted fancy dogs on them. It was awesome).