UNAPPROVED ROUTE
2021 (2º half)
Trail
The Envendos Route could also be called the Viewpoints Route, and it is not for nothing that this is one of the most demanding trails in Mação, because enjoying the amazing views from places like Castelo Velho da Zimbreira or Moita da Asna requires effort and perseverance. Still, it is well worth it, the views are breathtaking!
Although Pego da Rainha is the best known point of this trail, the landscapes that make it up are all truly breathtaking and therefore deserve to be as well known as the famous waterfall.
Starting and ending at the Republic Square, right in the heart of Envendos, and passing through some of the villages of the parish with the same name, namely Zimbreira, this is a Route for the bravest and most adventurous hikers.
Natural Heritage
In this area there are abundant streams of crystalline water and waterfalls that plunge into refreshing catchments. The banks of the streams are populated with alders, water-suckers and many varieties of ferns and mosses that take advantage of the shady areas to develop. In the lowland areas you can still see wild boars (sus scrofa), badgers (meles meles) and foxes (vulpes vulpes) running among the pines, cork oaks, oaks and Galician juniper.
The landscape of the region is dominated in the east by an extensive quartzite ridge that rises above the horizon, it is on a fault of this mountain range that plunges into the Ocreza that we find the Pego da Rainha, flown over by imposing griffon vultures (Gyps-fulvus) that nest on the nearby cliffs and fill the skies.
Cultural Heritage
The circular route with almost 20km of the Envendos Route offers the hiker the best route to discover the cultural, geological, landscape and natural heritage of this territory.
One of the most amazing experiences of this trail includes climbing the Zimbreira Old Castle and enjoying the extraordinary views over the meanders of the Ocreza River. In addition, glimpsing the immense water plane of the Pracana reservoir and the mountain ranges that extend beyond it, giving the landscape an indescribable strength, is another highlight of the tour.
From an architectural point of view, the houses with influences from both the Alto Alentejo and Beira Baixa are also worthy of note, as well as the richness of the birdlife present along the entire route.