The group gathers at the end of the day in the charming village of Carapito at the B&B Terreiro de Santa Cruz, run by Augusta and Fernando who's families have lived in this village for many generations. The B&B is located in the middle of the village and has a home-like feel to it.

Augusta is a great cook that serves home-made jams, local cheeses, traditional Portuguese dishes, vegetarian food AND 'queijadas', a bread with cheese that is baked in a wood fire oven. We'll be enjoying her cooking talents during the first two days as the B&B is home base for the first two nights. It's hard not to stop for the lunch picnic early knowing the tasty food you carry in your backpack!

Highlights Day 1.

- The source of the Dão river and the mother oak tree next to it.
- Old villages and historic rural landscape on the plateau where the Dão springs.
- Views far into the Dão valley and onto various mountain ranges of the Beira Alta.
- Floodplains near Dornelas.
- A stop at ‘the blue café’ in Dornelas.
- Multiple Dão crossings.

The Caminho do Dão starts at the river's source (of course) on the edge of the tiny village of Barranha. The source of the Dão is found in a field of young ash trees where water starts surfacing from underground and a stream becomes visible. It is a simple and quiet rural place shouldered by a majestic centennial Oak tree (Quercus pyrenaica) that spans at least 25 meters and offers a beautiful space for a contemplative moment before you embark on a long walk.

The Dão springs on a high plateau with crisp air and light, old oak woodlands, a few small villages, centennial chestnut trees and agricultural fields. After meandering 5 km over the plateau the river dives down into the steep beginning tip of the Dão valley. The trail leads to the edge of the plateau elsewhere to a point with great vistas of the Beira Alta region and surrounding mountain ranges. Then it descends into the narrow and remote tip of the Dão valley and follows the (still small) river closely.

After 4 km the valley widens, the valley floor flattens and the first flood plains appear followed by small farms with sheep and goat herds and food plots. For the next 10 km the trail weaves through the valley, crossing the Dão multiple times and passing through the village of Dornelas for a stop at a local café. A few km after Dornelas the valley narrows and the remaining part of the first day’s trail leads through forests till the end point at a little café in Forninhos.

Highlights Day 2.

- The beautifully situated village of Quinta da Ponte including mill complex.
- A still and intimate experience of the valley of just you and nature.
- Bee colonies in dozens of hives.
- Wildlife spotting (bee eaters, otters, kingfisher)
- The large Roman below Castelo de Penalva.
- Large areas of mixed endemic forests.
- Sparse human presence.
- The days destination: the small town of Penalva do Castelo with a view on the Dão valley and interesting architecture.

The path on day 2 leads through one of the most quiet and undisturbed parts of the Dão valley. A day where we will be alone with wildlife and the senses can have an uninterrupted experience of nature. If we are lucky we might spot an Otter or a group of Bee Eaters!  Close to the river we will come across remnants of human activity such as abandoned orchards and water channels leading to old mills. Shortly before our lunchbreak we will pass a beautiful vista point form where we can see the rich patchwork forest and agricultural landscape including one of the best protected oak woodlands in the Dão valley. This is at the point where the Ribeira de Carapito (tributary) flows into the Dão.

The day's lunch and midday rest-stop is at a paradisaical bend in the river at the foot of an abandoned mill complex. From here we will walk to the nearby stepping stones and cross the river either over the stones or through the river, depending on our courage and the force of the water that day. The path leads up away from the river and midway the valley slope and we will walk through the diverse forest for a few kilometers. When we get close to Castelo de Penalva we go down and cross the river again over a beautiful and big Roman bridge. From here we walk a quiet paved road along the river for a few kilometers until we get close to Penalva do Castelo. From the bottom of the valley we go up on a steep road straight up the valley slope through vineyards until we enter the village. At this point we all deserve need some refreshment and stop for a drink on the main square and toast to a day well spent.

Highlights Day 3.

- Dense mixed forests with lots of old oak trees.
- Seeing the river grow with the water from tributary streams and rivers.
- The village and farmlands of Darei overlooking the lake.
- Picnic lunch at BinoDão waterfront meadow with possibility to swim.
- The dam of Fagilde.
- The 12^th and 16^th century Monastery of Santa Maria de Maceira Dão.

Day 3 is characterized by the contrast between uninterrupted forests in the first half of the walk and human interventions in the second. From Penalva do Castelo, located on the rim of the valley, the path takes a steep dive back down into the valley and follows the river through relatively narrow and densely wooded part up to where the water reservoir of the dam of Fagilde starts.

On this day the first larger areas of invasive species like Acacias and Eucalyptus start to show up. At the start of the lake the valley widens and the path offers nice views on the lake and hills around it. It follows the edge of the lake until the head of the dam and then, for 1 hr or so, leads up and through an area with villages, some industry, and lots of infrastructure. Until the mouth of the river at the end by Santa Comba Dão this is the area with the highest density of human activity on the Caminho do Dão. From the village of Vila Garcia the path leads down into the valley again, back into the quiet and past the majestic ruins of an old monastery.

Moinhos do Dão is an old mill complex on the banks of the Dão river that is now in use as an ‘off-grid’ ecological farm & guesthouse. The terrain of the quinta is a patchwork of different ecosystems including endemic deciduous oak and chestnut forest, a riparian forests and river floodplains. The focus of the quinta is on living in harmony with nature and this plays a key role in the way the quinta is managed and the activities that are developed.
The river beach and various areas on and around the quinta provide a beautiful location for relaxing and exploring. The meals are meat-free and made with seasonal produce from the garden and local markets and guests are invited to help with the preparation and clean-up of the meals.

Highlights:

- The roman bridge and village of Alcafache.
- The mills and riverscape at Azenha das Freiras.
- The valley views at the abandoned Quinta da Ufa.
- A landscape recovering from the wildfires of 2017.
- A stop at café O Cucu in the village of Silgueiros.
- The site, comfort and hospitality of Hotel Beira Dão.

Day 5 is characterized by a landscape that changes at every bend in the river. As the human presence on the rims increases halfway the valley the variety and quick alteration between agriculture and forestry also increase. The areas of endemic forest become smaller and those of the planted forests bigger.
Also, after 8km the landscape starts showing the signs of the fires of 2017 that burned half a million hectares including 40% of the Dão valley. Interestingly (and luckily) many of the areas of endemic oak forests survived. The fires just could not make their way through these cool and humid zones. For those who are interested the landscape tells an interesting story about natural regeneration and the consequences of various human activities.

Highlights:

- A landscape dominated by granite bedrock formations.
- Green oasis where the fires and land use practices did not eliminate the original vegetation.
- Picnic lunch and time for resting in the spectacularly eroded granite bed of the river.
- Besides the sounds of nature a very silent part of the valley.
- The old villages of Corujeiro, Furadouro and Penedo.
- Roman bridge at Ferreirós do Dão.

On day 6 you will experience the geological reality of the Dão valley in the way erosion has brought the granite bedrock to the surface and shaped the river bed. The path leads through a part of the valley with massive granite rock formations and at times you will see more granite than green. The landscape is spectacular but it also raises questions about the causes of erosion which are, in part, natural-caused by rain, wind, freezing and the flow of the river. Another part is the result of unsustainable forestry and agriculture and of the returning wild fires all causing the erosion of soils.

As mentioned before, the Caminho do Dão is a walk through a 21^st century landscape that is shaped by the contemporary economic, social and climate reality. It does not make the hike less interesting and engaging. On this day you will visit one of the most beautiful remote river beaches in a granite gorge with building size boulders that came crashing down into the river bed as a result of natural erosion.

Highlights:

- The view of the Dão valley from the edge of Papizios with the end point of Santa Comba Dão far in the distance.
- A wide and forested Dão valley with the widening river flowing through.
- Dense and humid strips of endemic forests.
- The ‘Eco Pista Dão’ bike and hiking path on the old train track between Santa Comba Dão and Viseu.
- Increasing presence of Cork Oaks as we are getting to lower altitudes and hotter micro climates.

The last day on the Caminho! These last 20 km of the Dão valley are dominated by forests alternating between eucalyptus and pine monocultures on the accessible parts of the slopes and endemic diverse forests in the steep crevices. Here you will also often pass a creek running down to the Dão making these mini valleys very rich with flora and fauna.

Due to the Aguieira dam downstream, the water of the river starts backing up and starts widening at about halfway the hiking day. It is awe inspiring to see the Dão grow during the week, from a small stream surfacing in a field, to a flowing river to a large body of water where it meets the Mondego by the dam. This is where the water of the Dão opens up to the rest of the world and eventually will meet the Atlantic. Here its water will at some point turn into rain again and move over land to feed the rivers of the Iberic Peninsula and continue the life giving and land-scaping cycle that has formed this piece of our planet.

#caminhododao