CRD01Serra da Coroa Traverse

Cycle touring, not competition

This is the road route to start with in Vinhais. It is not a competitive race; it is half a day of cycle touring on traffic-free roads: 50.5 kilometres and around 1,300 metres of accumulated climbing, through villages steeped in history and across the Serra da Coroa, the highest point in the municipality. It is a red-graded route, at a relaxed pace, with as many stops as needed to take photographs and discover new places.

Start and finish in Vinhais

The route is circular and begins and ends at the Porta de Vinhais, at the Interface de Transportes, with the town's cafés and restaurants in the first and last kilometres. Sobreiró de Cima, at kilometre 6.9, with a café and chapel, marks the start of the mountain road: care is advised on the bends, as the dampness lingers.

Peleias and Tuízelo

Peleias, at kilometre 12.3, is a pleasant village with a chapel. Tuízelo, at kilometre 16.0, has a history predating the 12th century, the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios and the Igreja de Saint Andrew, as well as a café and restaurant for a stop. Between kilometres 10 and 18 the road climbs around 260 metres.

The Serra da Coroa

Through Salgueiros and Vilar de Ossos the route reaches Travanca, at kilometre 26.4, with a church, fountain and chapel, and the highest point of the day at 1,055 metres, at kilometre 27.9, on the Serra da Coroa, territory of the Iberian wolf. A demanding descent follows to Santa Cruz: around 330 metres in just over three kilometres.

Santa Cruz and Paçó

Santa Cruz, at kilometre 31.2, with a fountain and mill, is a village where rural life still holds sway. The return leg skirts the range to the south, through Paçó, at kilometre 36, and Quintela, as far as the EN103 and the Ponte de Santa Marinha, at kilometre 40, over the Tuela.

Vila Verde and the return

Vila Verde, at kilometre 43.1, with a picnic area, opens the final kilometres along the EN103 back to Vinhais, with a short climb of around 70 metres to close. Those who finish wanting more of Montesinho will find the Volta a Montesinho, also red-graded, starting from the same point.