BTT09Dine Route

To Dine, the archaeological treasure of Montesinho

This route extends the Rota da Fraga dos 3 Reinos to explore the eastern reaches of Montesinho and one of the most remarkable places in the municipality. It is not a loop to the border with a village at the end, but a 64.6-kilometre traverse that runs three kilometres along the raia and reaches Dine, with the Lorga de Dine cave and the lime kilns. Total ascent is approximately 1,700 metres. It is a black-graded route — long and demanding — and deserves time set aside for the visit.

Start and finish at the Parque Biológico

The route is circular and begins and ends at the entrance to the Parque Biológico de Vinhais. The first 22 kilometres follow the Rota da Fraga dos 3 Reinos: Travanca at kilometre 4.6, the climb to Serra da Coroa reaching 1,255 metres at kilometre 7.4, Carvalhas and the former customs post, the Fraga dos 3 Reinos at kilometre 18.5, and Moimenta at kilometre 21.3, which has toilets, a fountain, a tavern, and the Museu do Contrabando.

The cobbled road and the medieval bridge

After Moimenta, the route descends along the Roman cobbled road to the Rio Tuela and crosses it at the Ponte Medieval das Vinhas, at kilometre 25.6. It is the same surface over which travellers and goods passed two thousand years ago.

The border

Between kilometres 29 and 35, the track climbs approximately 400 metres and runs for around three kilometres alongside the border, with views towards the Spanish villages of Hermisende and San Ciprián and the ridges of Serra da Gamoneda. It offers the ever-compelling sensation of cycling at the boundary between two countries, with the second highest point of the day — 1,126 metres — reached at kilometre 35.

Mofreita and Dine

Mofreita, at kilometre 38.7, has two fountains and a church. Dine is reached at kilometre 40.7, beside the Fonte da Lorga, and is the heart of the route: the Lorga de Dine cave holds remains spanning from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, and is one of the few caves in Portugal with evidence of human habitation; the finds are interpreted at the Centro de Interpretação, next to the church. Outside, the lime kilns — active until the 1960s — bear witness to the industrial heritage of the place.

Santa Cruz

From Dine, old tracks follow the valley of the Ribeira do Teixedo, reaching the lowest point of the day at 702 metres, at kilometre 42.8, and crossing another old bridge before arriving at Santa Cruz, at kilometre 54.4, which has a fountain and a mill, set against Serra da Coroa.

Paçó, Prada and the return

Paçó, at kilometre 58.8, with a café, a fountain, and the Pelourinho beside the church, and Prada, at kilometre 61.8, with a café, complete the return to the Parque Biológico. Those seeking the same border scenery on a shorter day will find the red-graded Rota da Fraga dos 3 Reinos starting from the same point.