Gerês: Thermal Baths, Mountain Landscapes and Cultural Heritage

Gerês combines a long thermal bathing history with impressive mountain landscapes, Roman traces and trails through a largely natural environment. Those looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home can use their preferred travel style as a guide: Should the trip focus on the Termas do Gerês and cultural heritage, or should viewpoints, riverbanks and the landscape of the national park take centre stage?

Thermal history and special places in Vila do Gerês

The historical connections of the Termas do Gerês date back to Roman times. However, the first thermal bathhouse was not built until the beginning of the 18th century. In Vila do Gerês, the Colunata Honório de Lima commemorates a later phase of this development: it was built in 1926 based on a design by the architect Raul Lino (1879–1974). The Buvete, also called Bica, is located at the Colunata and is used for drinking the thermal water.

The Termas do Gerês offer a thermal spa with a heated swimming pool, gym, massages and thermal aesthetics programmes. This also allows a stay to be complemented by more relaxing experiences. When choosing your accommodation, you can consider whether to focus on the thermal facilities and architectural features of Vila do Gerês or on excursions into the mountains.

Viewpoints and trails in the Serra do Gerês

Two viewpoints with different access routes help visitors get their bearings in the landscape. Mirante Velho can be reached by car via the M-533, which connects Campo do Gerês with Vila do Gerês. The Fraga Negra viewpoint can be reached on foot from the M-533 and is located 0.5 km from this road. The forestry services established Fraga Negra in 1962, primarily on the initiative of Dr Manuel Braga da Cruz.

The trails also offer different ways to discover Gerês. The shortest variant of the PR10 – Trilho da Preguiça runs along the banks of the River Gerês. The PR3 – Trilho dos Currais, on the other hand, provides direct contact with local community traditions. These include the silvopastoral organisation known as the Vezeira, which is practised in the Serra do Gerês from May to September.

Nature, animals and Roman traces

Together with the Parque Natural da Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés, the Parque Nacional Peneda-Gerês forms the cross-border Gerês-Xurés park, established in 1997. The national park is characterised by a rich natural and cultural heritage, as well as largely natural ecosystems with little or no human influence in an impressive landscape. In the mountains of the Serra do Gerês, you can observe the native breeds of Garrano horses and Barrosã cattle grazing. The woodland includes, among other species, oak, holly, Portuguese laurel, birch, pine, strawberry tree and yew.

One of the most striking natural attractions is the Cascata do Arado, a waterfall on the River Arado. It is located about 3 km from the village of Ermida and about 8 km from Vila do Gerês, in the heart of the Gerês area. The Geira offers a different focus: the road built under the Flavian dynasty of the Roman Empire connected Braga with Astorga and runs for approximately 30 km through the municipality of Terras de Bouro.

Choosing Gerês as your accommodation base

A holiday apartment in Gerês is particularly suitable for your plans if you want to combine thermal history, nature observation and cultural discoveries. For a stay focused on viewpoints and trails, you should take access to the respective starting points into account. Those interested in local stories can also discover Penedo da Freira. This place is associated with a legend according to which a nun from a convent in Porto supposedly hid here in Zanganho with her lover, believed to have been a young Castilian knight, towards the end of the 18th century.

This creates a journey in Gerês with a variety of highlights: thermal waters and architectural history, the Roman past, community traditions, mountain forests and waterfalls. For further regional orientation, you can also discover Vilar Da Veiga.

To the higher-level travel overview: Vilar da Veiga.