The best running trails around Sabugal

From the San Miguel Trail in the Sierra de Gata, you can enjoy a spectacular view of the village of Eljas, nestled high in the mountains, surrounded by nature and with a very distinctive profile of reddish roofs and steep streets.

Belmonte, one of the twelve Historic Villages of Portugal, is the home of Pedro Álvares Cabral and guardian of the country's largest Jewish community, a legacy that endured centuries of Inquisition. Between walls and memories, mystique and history abound, with the Serra da Estrela on one side and the Malcata Reserve on the other. The food completes the enchantment: Jewish flavors like fried offal coexist with broths, migas, esparregados, and traditional Beira sweets: rice pudding, papas de carolo, and filhós. Here, the landscape and the food merge into a delightful experience.

Pedro Álvares Cabral, the man who gave Europe Brazil, was born high up in Cova da Beira, with the Serra da Estrela on the horizon. But the history of Belmonte begins much earlier: among dolmens, forts and the enigmatic Torre de Centum Cellas. A town of walls, synagogues and conquests, it was the scene of Romans, Jews and Portuguese heroes. Today, it continues to stand firm on a beautiful hill — true to its name and its legendary past.

Located just off the main road south of Guarda (which at 1,053 metres is the highest city in Portugal), it is one of twelve aldeias históricas (historic villages), a government-sponsored initiative to promote the immense heritage of the beautiful Beiras region. Belmonte’s most famous son is without doubt Pedro Álvares Cabral, a major figure of the Age of Discovery who was born in the village in 1467. As a young and very ambitious sea captain of just 32 years old, he commanded a fleet of thirteen ships with some 1,500 men that departed from the shores of Lisbon on the 9th of March, 1500. Six weeks later Cabral dropped anchor off the north-east coast of Brazil, becoming the first Portuguese navigator to reach South America. It was also the first known expedition to have touched all four continents of Europe, Africa, America and Asia. Built in the 13th century, Belmonte Castle (the village’s key attraction) became the birthplace of the young explorer in 1467 after his father received it as a loyalty payment from King Afonso V and adapted it as the Cabral family residence. One of the region’s most prominent landmarks, the castle offers today’s visitors fine views of the Estrela mountains and the surrounding Lower Beiras countryside from its towering keep, which stands proud at an altitude of 615 metres above sea level. Adjacent to the castle stands the church of São Tiago which is of the same period and has many interesting features, including a a painted 14th-century granite pietà and the pantheon of the Cabral family, although the navigator’s body now rests at the Convento da Graça in Santarém.

The Hermitage of the Holy Spirit is a chapel located in Eljas. The Hermitage of the Holy Spirit occupies the central nave of what until 1977 was the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación. When they rebuilt the parish in 1935-1936, they included within their space the site of an old hermitage that, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, dated from the 16th century.

The Hermitage of the Holy Spirit is located next to the Castaño stream, 2.5 km from Valverde del Fresno. It is a small and simple Hermitage with beautiful mountains behind. The Camino del Espírita Santo, which reaches here, is usually a dry and dusty path surrounded by olive and holm oak trees.

This old bridge marks the beginning of the ascent to Valverde del Fresno. It is not a long or hard climb, but a steady climb until you reach the center.

Following this dusty road surrounded by olive and holm oak trees, you will arrive at the Ermita do Espíritu Santu, a small hermitage on the side of the Castaño stream.