GERES

 

The National Park Peneda-Geres, is the only national park in Portugal and is located in the extreme northeast of Minho, bordering Galicia, covering the districts of Braga (municipality of Terras de Bouro), Viana do Castelo (district of Melgaço Valdevez and Arcos de Ponte da Barca) and Vila Real (district Montalegre) in a total area of about 70,290 hectares [1].It is one of the greatest natural attractions of Portugal, with rare and stunning natural beauty and ecological value and variety of wildlife (deer, wild horses, wolves, birds of prey) and flora (pine, yew, chestnut, oak and various medicinal plants) . It stretches from the mountains of Geres, south, passing through the Peneda to the Spanish border.Includes excerpts from the Roman road linking Braga to Astorga, known as Geira. [3] In the park are located in two important centers of pilgrimage, the Shrine of Our Lady of Peneda, a replica of the shrine of Bom Jesus, and St. Benedict the Open Door, a place of great popular devotion