Orientation

The roughly c-shaped park covers 270 sq. mi. of mountains and forests along Portugal’s border with Spain, with the Serra da Peneda mountain range making up the wilder northern part and the Serra do Gerês encompassing much of the south. The most popular point of entry for the park is Vila do Gerês (pronounced “VEE-luh doo j-RESH,” also called Caldas do Gerês), a small spa town. This valley town essentially has one circular one-way road; the bus stop is just below the bottom of the circle, and the tourist office is uphill along the road to the right (where just about everything is), at the far end.