Hello! I am Freya van Dien the guide of the Caminho do Dão.

Walking is one of my passions in life and the desire to walk has grown with the years. For me it fulfills a need to explore the world and connect with nature and I benefit greatly from the way it refreshes and balances my body and soul. I believe in the power of walking as a way to connect with and be at peace in the world and in ourselves.

As Henry David Thoreau said:“when I walk I receive pure presence by the ton”.

As a guide my goal is to facilitate a sense of connection with nature and culture in the Dão valley while walking mindfully. In my role as a guide I like to describe myself as: in tune with nature and in touch with local culture and history.

When I walked the Caminho do Dão for the first time in 2019 it was 30 years ago (1989) that I first set foot in the Dão valley and the Beira Alta region. 1989 was the year my adventurous mother bought an old millers farm on the banks of the Dão river, named it Moinhos do Dão and started building an eco-tourism business. In 2013 my husband Steven and I took over the business and came to live in the Dão valley.

Ever since I moved here I have imagined how wonderful it would be to walk the entire length of the Dão valley. In the spring of 2019 this idea became a reality and, together with my dear friend Nadine we walked the 100km length of the river valley. The experience exceeded all expectations and made me decide to start offering the Caminho do Dão as a hiking tour.

I am excited to get more people to walk the Dão valley, local people as well as from abroad, and share in the beautiful simplicity of the act of walking.
Visit the testimonials page to see how others have experienced hiking the Caminho do Dão with me.