Valongo Mountain Range

Hi Friends! We found a new beautiful and natural space to discover and preserve.

Between hills and cliffs valleys you can find the “Serras de Valongo”. These mountains are near Porto, more specifically in the city of Valongo. This is an isolated place of forgotten villages, where nature has managed to survive the destructive actions made by man, hiding in the deepest pits or in the most desert ridges.

(Câmara Municipal de Valongo, available: click here)

Picture by Tatiana Dinis

The Santa Justa and Pias Mountains are distributed between the municipalities of Valongo, Gondomar and Paredes. Together they represent the natural heritage and they are a very important symbol for the future development of these parishes.

(Centro de Trail de Valongo, available: click here)

With the existence of these natural spaces, the romans created conditions to explore gold and antimony mineralizations, and this process was used until the Second World War. Also, the exploration of the blackboard started in the 19^th century and continues until today.

Picture by Tatiana Dinis

Serras de Valongo are as well characterized by the presence of the Ferreira river and a complex system of fojos (underground galleries that incline to dozens of meters of depth). The mines, small springs and water lines, create particularly positive conditions for the herpetofauna associated with humid environments, highlighting the presence of an fascinating set of endemic species of the Iberian Peninsula: the water lizard (Lacerta schreiberi), the orange-bellied newt (Triturus boscai), the Iberian frog (Rana ibérica), and the Lusitanian salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica), a unique amphibian exclusive to Northwest Iberia.

( Natural Link, available: click here)´

Picture by Tatiana Dinis

My GreenWay Tours is creating a new trail to explore these stunning mountains, in order to provide amazing experiences with breath-taking views. So be prepared for this new tour!