Come and explore the Portuguese rural riches in the center of the Dão valley. Enchanting historic villages of Santar and Vilar Seco, endless Dão wine grape fields, olive orchards, pasture lands interlaced with small forest plots.

This hike starts and ends at the Paço de Santar square in ‘Santar garden village’, with its many old estates and various famous wine houses. We start with a short walk through the village, getting to know some of the rich history.

From Santar we walk in southern direction into the seemingly endless grape fields of ‘Casa de Santar’ that stretch out around the village. We will walk the old rural caminhos though a shallow valley between Santa and Vilar Seco. The landscape here shows us the living agricultural traditions of making wine, olive oil and sheep and goat cheese. These are staples of the regional gastronomy and the agricultural practices define a large part of the land use in the Dão valley resulting in a beautiful patchwork.

Vilar Seco can compete with Santar when it comes to historic significance and buildings. It was once the seat of the regional government now located in Nelas and has some beautiful manor houses. The walk leads past a number of these buildings and from the Vilar Seco we head back in northern direction to cross the patchwork valley and walk back to Santar through a small hamlet Casal Sancho where we will see more manor houses that speak of a history of rural wealth.

Back in Santar there are various options for enjoying a refreshment.