My Map Pins (31): Parque Natural do Alvão, Portugal ((posted April 2021)

 You will need a car. Alvão Natural Park is the smallest national park in Portugal but it is a little off the beaten track. It is, however, quite close to the delightfully named, Nossa Senhora da Graca de Mondim de Basto – a sixteenth Century hilltop chapel which dominates the region and is well worth a visit once you’ve done the park. But let’s stick with the park for this map pin. It is a mountainous region, and it’s a time capsule. You will go back in time. This isn’t a gimmick. But the villages that have been enclosed within the park look as if they’ve been unchanged for a century. Farmers eke out a living among these inhospitable peaks. How they do it, heaven only knows. You’ll feel uncomfortable, like an intruder from the future as you glide past in your air conditioned car. There are plenty of walks. They are all pretty hilly. But the views are spectacular. We saw mountain goats. There they are in the photo taken on my mobile phone.

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