Gouveia & Serra da Estrela

Continuing north from Monsanto on our September 2025 road trip, we drove into the Serra da Estrela mountain range which has the highest point in mainland Portugal. The drive afforded panoramic views of the area and a good look of a famous rock, the Cabeça do Velho (old man's head). We stayed overnight in a lovely rural hotel in the small town of Gouveia.

The Madre de Agua is a modern, beautifully appointed hotel in a very rural area. It is also a working quinta with several acres of vinyards and orchards, plus horse stables and a riding and instruction arena. It also has a number of pens where the staff care for hundreds of stray dogs. The hotel staff told us we were welcome to wander around the property and help ourselves to its bounty. We did! There were apple, fig, and pear trees bearing fruit, wild strawberries, tomatoes, and grapes, of course. The cherry and citrus trees were out of season, and the olives were still ripening for the December harvest.

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We left the hotel heading east to Salamanca but not without stopping for a couple of hours to take in the fresh mountain air by a small man-made lake.