Our Visit to Fafião - “Village of Lobos” - in the Peneda-Gerês National Park:
On our third day in Gerês we were in need of a more restful day and decided to drive to Fafião, also known as the “Village of Lobos” in nearby Montalegre. We had spent our first day hiking to the Miradouro da Pedra Bela and our second day exploring the Trilhos dos Miradouros and now it was time for a more leisurely day with just one short “hike”!
The Village of Fafião:
It was a scenic drive from Gerês to Fafião which took about 35 minutes.
With the car parked we had only walked a short distance when we spotted what looked like the most perfect coffee stop Hostel Retiro de Gerês so we headed inside, ordered a coffee and took a seat outside in the morning sun - bliss! This was a great find, lovely coffee and staff and lots of local produce for sale too. The building appears to be brand new/newly renovated and the location would make it a great base for exploring the area.
Miradouro de Fafião:
Fuelled up we walked uphill to check out the Miradouro de Fafião. The trail PR1 is well signposted and easy to follow:
We were early as the forecast for the day was for +30C temperatures so we wanted to see everything before it got too hot (for us). We had the place to ourselves. This is a really easy walk/hike and as I am sure you will agree from my photographs, it is well worth visiting for the view!
Can you spot the Fojo do Lobo in the distance? More about this below!
Walking back across the bridge from the lookout:
On our way to our next stop:
Fojo do Lobo:
From the Miradouro de Fafião we again followed the PR1 trail (seen in the photo below) to the Fojo do Lobo. The Fojo do Lobo is a very well-preserved ancestral trap used for hunting Iberian wolves. Fafião hosts a “Village of Wolves Festival” annually in the month of June.
Such gorgeous scenery:
It is another easy walk/hike down to the Fojo do Lobo, the next photo is looking back up at the Miradouro de Fafião:
And looking forwards towards the fojo:
One of the signposts along the way:
Some photos of the information sign at the fojo and the trail that we were following:
Inside the fojo:
The pit in the fojo:
After this we continued to follow the PR1 trail down until we veered left and turned back up into the village once again. It was really lovely and took us through the local narrow cobbled streets.
A Lovely Way To Spend A Morning:
We had a lovely morning in Fafião and of course you could stay longer and have lunch or do some more hiking in the surrounding area. We chose to just visit the main Fafião sights and it was too early for lunch!
On our way back to Gerês we stopped at the Cascata de Várzeas and carefully cooled down in the water there, staying in the shallow areas where others were also bathing:
A very enjoyable morning and we still had the afternoon to relax with our feet up back in the shade at our Gerês refugio.
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