|
|
To arrive Folgosinho, you must come as follows:
If you
are on A1 (south-north), you shall go out to the
IP3, in direction to Viseu, until the way out to
IC12, direction to Mangualde, Guarda and Nelas.
Arriving Nelas, you shall pass the rotund, turn
right to Seia, using the EN231.
Arriving Seia you shall enter on EN17 to Gouveia (please
see map).
If you are on A1, but in north-south way, you shall
follow the IP5, in direction to Viseu and Guarda,
going out on Celorico da Beira. You shall enter on
EN17 in direction to Gouveia (please see map).
For those who come from Spain using IP5, they shall
go out in Celorico da Beira and enter on EN17, in
direction to Gouveia (please see map).
|
|
Rota dos Galhardos
Pedestrian way
PR 1
The «Rota dos
Galhardos» is a pedestrian way that uses almost all
way two roman sidewalks. One of them is named
Galhardos and the other one is Cantarinhos. It is a
way of Pequena Rota (PR), that takes place in Serra
da Estrela and Folgosinho is the only starting and
arriving point.
Walking from the
Largo da Fonte in direction to the mountain, we
arrive to the square of the public washer places.
Here we find a inscription concerning the way, which
is obligatory to read it. It’s near the tanks that
begins the «Rota dos Galhardos», name of the little
devils that, as the legend, have made the sidewalk
in one night. Truly, it is a sidewalk made during
the roman occupation.
(…
these pieces of sidewalk make part of the Roman Way
that crossed the Serra da Estrela. It started in
Valhelhas and Famalicão, the way would follow
straight ahead from Quinta da Taberna and
Folgosinho. The way of the Calçada dos Galhardos
supposes a union in Gouveia, may be turning by south
the Serra de Sao Tiago or going down directly from
Folgosinho till Gouveia.) – The archaeology of Serra
da Estrela – Jorge de Alarcão
Starting on the
washer tanks, we follow by the street of the
Mountain. Then we find on the left side, a asphalted
way with the indication of the Folgosinho’s
arboretum. Besides its beauty, they don’t belong to
our route. Following out of the village, we will
find a left cut. The signalling indicates the way to
follow.
After passing by the
football field, we enter truly on the Calçada dos
Galhardos, and we find the first of four shelter
houses, built by the order of João de Vasconcelos on
the 40’s. These houses served to people refuges from
the storms or for those who came with flocks and
maize spikes, in wagons pulled by oxen.
Besides the ascent
be steep, the way is easy to make, stopping
sometimes to contemplate the horizons. The landscape
is magnificent, in all ways.
Almost near the second house, the sidewalk ends
abruptly and in the right, appears a little forest
of birches that will follow us during several meters
till the Portela de Folgosinho.
Here three ways cross together: right to Folgosinho,
ahead to Casais e Assedasse and left to Vidermonte.
Is this last one our way.
This road crosses the Vidmonte plateaus, that
constitutes a natural breaking line between the
mountain turned to Atlantic, and the other side,
dryer, where we can find some species characteristic
from the micro-climate areas of Mediterranean.
Following this road,
where the Grandes Rotas also cross, one of them
marked by the Serra da Estrela Natural Park and the
other integrated in the net of ways from the INATEL
historical villages, designated by GR22, which we
will certainly follow in our way of the Pequena
Rota.
Some rocks are competing with the vegetation. A
little far from the way, but correctly indicated, we
will find a cliff that the weather changed, giving
it the appearance of a Pharaoh’s head.
But we can see much more rocks with the same beauty:
the Old Lady (Velha), the milled stone (Pedra
Furada) and many others, with other figures and
types.
A little more ahead,
a small mist forest, where predominate the Birches,
presents us with so many colours as the year
stations. When the Sun is up we can stop to a
deserved rest on its shades.
Near the Jogo da Bola, we left the road and follow
the trill in the right side, the Calçada dos
Cantarinhos, also designated Pé da Serra.
The way begins here to go down and will be like that
till Folgosinho
.
The way down shows us
a superblandscape, and it is good to make some
pauses to appreciate better.
On the end of the hillside we cross the Ribeira do
Freixo and the sidewalk ends there. We can make the
rest of the way by a sand way till a place named
Moinhos do Forno.
From here till the
village is very rapid. Passing by the chestnut and
oak trees, we can look to the green fields and for
the hard work of men and women that can take form
the hillside a piece of fertile land to cultivate.
Finally, we arrive to the village and after getting
energies in one sympatric tavern; we can make a last
visit to the village that someone believes that was
the berço of Viriato.
FLORA
In other times, all
these hillsides were cover by dense oak trees (Quercus
pyrenaica). But the systematic cut and the intense
pasturing have denudated the mountains that started
years later, during the Dictator, to be full of wild
pine trees.
As a consequence the lack of pasts make many people
to get some new places to live, starting the
emigration.
Besides the last years’ fires, we can still find the
presence of great areas of wild pine trees (Pinus
pinaster), that constitute a significant economical
value. We can also find little areas of sylvan pine
trees (Pinus sylvestris), vidoeiro (Betula pubescens),
Pseudotsuga and in the lower humid areas, the
chestnut tress (Castanea sativa).
In the fall, among the paths and in the forests we
can still observe some species of mushrooms,
specially boletus and amanitas.
FAUNA
Long time ago, we
could find wolfs in the mountains. Nowadays, this
predator is already a myth and instead of him, we
can find the javelin that constitutes a great
problem to the population because they destroy the
fields.
The badger, the jennet and the fox can be often seen.
Up in the sky the round wing eagle (Buteo buteo) fly
over the hillsides.
|
