Trilho Castrejo

A trail that lets you experience the park’s mountainous atmosphere, both its natural beauty and the human stories it holds. This is a well-marked, pleasant trail to hike, whose main challenge lies in its length.   

 Contact the organizing body in advance to find out the conditions for using the trail. 

Taking the trail counterclockwise, you start heading northwest, skirting the hotel. You’ll quickly leave the village behind and enter a magnificent mountain landscape. After 1 km, leave the main path and follow a stone trail to the left. You’ll pass through some marshy areas bordered by trees and along slopes covered with scrub. Shortly afterward, the ruins of the Castro Laboreiro Castle (currently marked by a triangulation point—1,035 m) and the mountain ridge on which it was built come into view on the left. 

When the villages of Laceiras and Ramisqueira come into view in the valley, the trail has already climbed above 1,000 m. A gentle descent leads to Lake Gondramil with its crystal-clear waters. Further on, after passing through a beautiful grove of black oak (Quercus pyrenaica), you reach the Barreiro winter shelter , where there is an old community oven made entirely of granite (when you reach the first houses, take the path on the left, ignoring the PR markings on the right). Just outside the Assureira winter shelter, you’ll pass a picturesque spot with a bridge and a mill, both made of stone. Immediately afterward, you’ll cross the Cava da Velha Bridge—also known as Ponte Nova—and begin a moderate climb to the Curveira winter shelter, where there is also a stone community oven. Here begins the steepest section of this route, which takes you near the Bico do Patelo, a curious granite formation. 

Once the climb is over, the trail continues to the right along a wide dirt road that offers views of the rugged mountain landscapes, home to the Iberian wolf and the mountain goat. When you see the Anamão wayside cross, the trail continues to the left. By taking a 700-meter detour, you can visit the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Anamão (or Numão), following the dirt road that passes by the wayside cross. 

The route continues to the village of Seara, the first of the three brandas we cross. This is the highest point of the route, at over 1,100 m. Next come the brandas of Padrosouros and Eiras, and the trail follows a beautiful walled path beneath the branches of several oak trees, passing through meadows bordered by granite stone walls. Before reaching Cainheiras, you’ll cross a small arched stone bridge, and after passing through this village, the route continues briefly along a paved road. Below the inverneira of the same name, we cross the Varziela Bridge, which holds historical significance for road connections between Minho and Galicia. One last climb—this time a short one—up a stone-paved path brings us to the final paved section, back to Castro Laboreiro.  

Alternative Route —  option to shorten the route by 5 km by reaching the coordinates 42.021675, -8.139019, after the climb that leads near Bico do Patelo. From here, you can head directly to the village of Cainheiras and continue the route.  

What are “brandas” and “inverneiras”? They can be farming “brandas” or livestock “brandas” and are located on the plateau or in high-altitude meadows. They are temporary settlements whose land is used for agriculture or grazing livestock during spring and summer, when these mountainous areas offer more favorable conditions for these human activities. In contrast to the brandas are the inverneiras—settlements where people spend the fall and winter (hence the name). Currently, in this transhumance imposed by the harsh conditions of the environment, in the villages that still practice this migration, people take only their livestock and a few personal belongings with them. In the inverneiras, people spent the fall and winter.