Portugal Hiking Guide: Lousa

Few travel to Portugal with a hiking holiday in mind. Going to the surf and sun on the beaches of Guincho or the Algarve is more common. However, Portugal does have a hiking attraction that is arguably unique: back country trails that lead to abandoned, "lost" villages!

The common base of these trails is the town of Lousa, about 20 km from the city of Coimbra. Coimbra itself is the one-time medieval capital of Portugal. It remains a lovely city, is popular with Lisbonites looking for a weekend getaways, and is one of the country's best secondary tourist destinations.

Getting There

The simplest and most direct way of accessing the hiking trails of Lousa is to rent a car after flying into either Lisbon or Porto, and drive into the area. Visitors can stay in either Coimbra or Lousa that way, and there is no need to hitch a ride or hike the considerable distance from Lousa to the trailheads. The alternative is to take the bus to Coimbra, make a connection to Lousa, and then either hitch a ride, take a cab, or walk the three kilometers from town to the trailhead.

The Trailhead

The trailhead is in the vicinity of the Castelo de Lousa, which can be very easily found. Leaving town on the west side will bring one to a grouping of signs, one of which points the way southwest, towards the castle. The building itself is a truly medieval, 12th century ruin in good repair. It stands on an impressive crag overlooking the valley and creek below, and there is a lovely grove of Portuguese oak located behind it.

Downhill is a fluvial and restaurant. The fluvial is a dam-created swimming pool. During the hot summer months, the gates are closed and cold mountain waters fill up a refreshing swimming hole. It is a good idea to bring swim trunks along during a summer visit, and to take a dip after a hot, sweaty hike in the highlands.

The restaurant is above the fluvial. Going past it and uphill leads to a large outdoor patio opposite and just below the castle. The trailhead is located at the back of this patio.

The Trails

The trails here lead to three lost villages: Talasnal, Casal Novo, and Chiqueiro. Talasnal and Casal Novo were abandoned in the 1950s, as the highland farmers gave up on trying to eek out a living on the mountain top and moved down into the cities. Chiqueiro took a hit in those times, but was never completely abandoned and has partly revived into a living farming community. The other two villages started to come back to life in the 1990s, as Portuguese and foreigner alike began to recognize the potential of their stone houses as weekend cottages.

After a short, steep climb through a kilometer of trail, the way comes to a sign-posted split: Talasnal to the right and the other two to the left. The trail to the left splits as well. Hiking out and making the return to Talasnal is a 9 kilometer hike. Casal Novo and Chiqueiro are located close together, and both can be done in an 11 kilometer round-trip. The entire trio can be tackled in one long day encompassing 17 kilometers.

Trails to all villages are marked by steep valley sides, switchbacks, and second growth forests. The approaches to the villages are home to stone terraced farming plots and animal pens that are now densely packed with brush and thin, weedy trees, the result of almost five decades of neglect. These overgrown markers of civilization definitely underscore the story of the "lost" villages.

The villages themselves all consist of a mixture of abandoned ruins and restored or partly-restored field stone cottages. They have a quaint feel to them, with the narrow, claustrophobic medieval streets creating a very urban feel that is completely out of place when compared to the tiny size of these little hamlets and their tiny permanent populations. The villages also feature stone-walled animal pens and terraced plots, which are overgrown but not to the same extent as in the outlaying areas. Each village has its own mix of abandoned ruins and restoration, and its own unique honeycomb of partly overgrown stone terraced fields, making each worthy of a little exploration.

The trails to the lost villages around Lousa are a unique opportunity to visit what amounts to medieval European ghost towns, only slightly recovered in even the best examples. Anyone who likes a walk in the woods and is considering either visiting Coimbra or making a long stay in Portugal should strongly consider visiting Lousa and going for this hike.

Sources: Personal Experience