Hidden mountain village Piódão

During this tour from Coimbra to the Portuguese countryside, I won't burden you with dates, stories of kings, court intrigues, and descriptions of battles! Except for telling you who was hiding in the village of Piódão, from whom and why.

Basically, we will simply enjoy the natural beauty of Portugal, including waterfalls and mountain rivers hidden in the forest shade, landscapes of mountain valleys, as well as the uniqueness of traditional architecture that confirms that the people are wise, and local cuisine dishes that are unlike anything you have tried or will try in Portugal.

We will visit the village of Piódão, where houses are built of slate, roofs are covered with plates of slate stone, and windows and doors are painted in bright blue.

A stone village hidden on the slope of a mountain!

This picturesque village is located 1 hour and 45 minutes from Coimbra. It's not close, but the excursion is worth the time!

Before visiting the village itself, we will visit a mountain waterfall, hidden in thickets of chestnuts, strawberry trees, and oaks. We can have a picnic there. If it's hot, you can swim in the cool waters of a small lake formed by the waterfall!

 After the walk, we will go to the village itself. There are only about 120 residents there. There are 2 churches that, due to their white walls against the gray-brown stone walls of the houses, resemble pearls in the gray valves of shells! The medieval network of streets has never been rebuilt, and the narrow steep streets have never seen carriages. In the evening, looking from the side, it seems that we are looking at a nativity scene, and the figures of the Holy Family and the Magi with gifts are missing. The Portuguese themselves call Piódão a nativity village or a Christmas village, so picturesque it is located on the slope of the Açor mountain!

We will have a local dish called "bucho" (I won't describe the ingredients, let it remain a mystery), and for a snack, we will have semi-soft goat/sheep cheese with pumpkin jam or exquisite pastries made of goat cheese. In souvenir shops, you can buy dark heather honey, various liqueurs, and the aforementioned cheeses.

 Before returning to Coimbra, we will visit an old water mill located on a mountain river, calm and low in water in the summer and turbulent and full of water in the winter. In the summer, we will definitely swim in a pool with the purest mountain water. The mill itself, all the bridges leading to it, and the houses in Piódão are built of brown-gray slate.

Explore unknown Portugal with us!