The Natural Park of Alvão is located NW of Vila Real and extends through 70 km² of mountainous land, covered with granite and quartzite formations of great beauty. In a certain way the landscape resembles Serra da Estrela in a much smaller scale!

We had the luck to have João “Animado”, an enthusiastic local developer, to show us the area and after a couple of days we couldn’t get enough of it! 🙂

I was blown away by the amazing scenery, the nice and fresh micro-climate and above all, the superior rock quality!

Have a look what Alvão has to offer!

Arriving Alvão by the South rim.

 

Just us and no one around! This place seems to be off the beaten track…

 

Last rays of light seeping through the trees.

 

Cuca having a first glance of the quartzite walls.

 

Overview of the impressive “Catedral do Medo” wall.

 

The power of nature as Rio Ôlo plunges into the steep canyon.

 

Upstream ponds and waterfalls perfect for a nice swim at Fisgas do Ermelo!

 

Wild goats always playing around and spying on us.

 

Local climber João Animado on the route “Coñan o Homem Rã”.

 

Cuca starting “Marretas Marginais”, with a sea of green/yellow lichen around him.

 

Animado leading the way on “Resgate Caprino”.

 

Now that’s what I call a jug! 😀

 

Vertiginous point of view of the cliff.

 

The wildlife and it’s habitats! Better not mess with them… 😛

 

“A Cabana” or “A Palhota” as locals call it, was our providential morning cafe.

 

A rustic cafe that keeps it’s roots alive.

 

The helmet shaped dome of Arnal is another landmark of the area.

 

The hillsides host hundreds of unexplored granite boulders.

 

Cuca looking at a possibly futuristic project!

 

A little cliff where we saw good potential for handful of bolted lines.

 

One of the best lines we opened was “Posta Mirandesa”! Ricardo Alves aka Macau dealing with the hard crux (photo taken by Vasco Ferreira).

 

Cuca on the same boulder and looking forward better temperatures to solve this masterpiece!

 

Cuca on a highball jam session!

 

A sneak peek into Escarpas do Corgo, a small crag located on Corgo gorges, a river that crosses the center of Vila Real.

 

There’s around 40 sports and some trad routes and I can say the place is quite peculiar…

 

Artistic installations or just weird stuff, choose yourself! 😀