Destination: Portugal

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Blazing the Beira Baixa

TWO TO THREE WEEKS / COIMBRA TO SORTELHA

This trip has some of Portugal’s most spectacular scenery and sights, but a severe dearth of public transport. With your own wheels, you could whiz around this 410km path in two weeks, but relying on buses, you’d have to skip the more remote villages.



This highly rewarding trip through the Beira Baixa takes you past striking scenery with plenty of opportunity for outdoor adventure and leaves the crowds behind – the deeper you delve, the fewer travellers you’ll see. Start your foray from Coimbra, soaking up the sights before hitting the photographer’s paradise and royal retreat and spa of Luso and Buçaco.

From here, you’ll lose the crowds by breaking west to pristine rural idylls such as Piódão, or any of the traditional hamlets and villages in the beautiful Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela, packed with exquisite scenery, outdoor pursuits and Portugal’s highest point – Torre, also home to the country’s only ski resort. Base yourself bang in the middle at Manteigas to give you the run of the whole mountain range; afterwards, visit beautiful Belmonte a hill town overlooking the Serra da Estrela with a fascinating secret history.

You could start the descent from these heady heights via the chilly highland towns of Covilhã or Guarda, and then head up north to Trancoso, a perfectly preserved medieval walled town. Other fabulous castles and fortified towns you can visit in lowland Beiras include northern Almeida and far-flung Sortelha both stunning destinations that see only a fraction of the tourist traffic of coastal Portugal.