Montes Novos

Montes Novos walk (body known as LLE PR5 as quel as PR7) starts in this small village of in the heart of the Serra do Caldeirão. The route follows tracks and unpaved roads which more often then not disappear in the abundant vegetation. The sheer beauty of the mountain area is overwhelming here. Take your time to take it in and enjoy that! The flora is versatile and although cork oaks and holm oaks dominate the view with their form and size, wild herbs (thyme and rosemary) and esteva are all around and their scent is in the air.

Cork

Cork oaks are of  high importance, economically spoken. It is said, that this area produces the best quality cork in the world. Honey is another local product of hij quality and value and bee hives are al around. The tree strawberries of the Medronho tree, that ripen without being polluted in this area, offer a top quality local spirit, called aguardente.

Montes Novos is a small village that hosts about 15 people whose houses are dispersed over the langs of two hills. Besteirinhos, a hamlet surrounded by traditional vegetable gardens (Hortas) is the source of the Odeleite river. This river finds its source in the hills here and finds her way through the valleys towards the east until she flows into the Guadiana river. The river is first visible in Pego Escuro. The landscape here is overwhelming  with trees that are not very common in the Algarve like willows and oleanders, the European ash (family of the olive tree, by the way) and in the sunset, otters come out of hiding to catch their evening meal.