Vilarinha

This route runs along rugged terrain with deep slopes dug into the coastal plateau by the water lines over millions of years.

The slopes of this route are made up of forest and shrubs growing in worn soil, which has been transformed by millenia of erosion. At the bottom of the valleys, the deposit of sediments has created some floodplains, which are made deeper, flatter, and more fertile by the water lines. The trail crosses agricultural areas, forests, shrubs, and water lines. In the agricultural areas, the Hoopoes, larks, corn buntings, and white wagtails abound. In thestone pine forests, the woodpeckers make holes in the bark of the trunks in order to place the seeds there and extract the pine nuts. In the cork tree forests, there is also the strawberry tree, whose fruit is used to make the famous brandy medronho. In the water lines, dominated by the African tamarisk,you canharvest blackberries, fennel, wild roses, wild mint, and Pennyroyal. In the spring and summer, you can stop here for a moment to watch the creeping buttercups floating in the water.

75% of all species of amphibians in Portugal can be found in the wetlands of Vilarinha. There are salamanders, newts, frogs and toads, as well as a rare and protected species of frog – the Iberian painted frog (Discoglossus galganoi). Amphibians play important role in ecosystem, for example, by feeding on the aquatic larvae of mosquitoes they contribute to controlling insect-borne diseases.

This territory was deeply transformed by human beings, especially from the Mesolithic era, more than 8000 years ago A.C. These populations burned the forest to promote the growth of herbs and to favor the herbivorous animals, an important food base for them. After the fire, the less dense vegetation allowed for hunters to access and see their game. Depending on the time of year, these populations used temporary camps by the sea or in the mountains to better manage and make use of the abundance of fish and shellfish, as well as collect wild fruits and hunt. However, in safe and mild climates, these nomadic populations would make more permanent base camps. We know this to be true because we have since discovered their cemeteries and food storage facilities.

In fact, this pendulum-like movement of people, depending on the time of year, has continued to be practiced into the present day. People continue to leave their villages to hunt, fish or harvest wild plants, using knowledge, whose origin has been lost in time. For example, every year in late spring, many inhabitants of the southwest coast travel through the mountains to harvest oregano, which after drying, is stored to use for the rest of the year. Local hunters continue to hunt partridges, one of the species whose bones are most common in the region’s archaeological sites. For many locals, fishing is still a way of supplementing the livelihoods of families, especially in the spring and summer.