Lousã Schist Walking Trail 1 The Mills Route

useful informations
trail signage
PR 1
LSA
LIST OF THE HERITAGE BUILDINGS
Town hall and pillory
Parish church
Viscondessa do Espinhal Palace (Hotel Mélia Palace)
Old town Mansions Prado paper factory
LIST OF CLASSIFIED AREAS
Natura 2000 network
National Ecological Reserve
PLACES OF INTEREST
Historical old town
Prado paper factory
Water mills (ruins of)
N. Sra da Piedade (Sanctuary)
Natural swimming pool
Lousã Castle
PLACES TO EAT
_Lousã:
“RestoBar Licor Beirão” Restaurant - 239 99 08 00
"Churrascaria Borges” Restaurant - 239 99 34 89
“Travessa com Tapas” Restaurant - 239 99 64 71
“Casa Velha” Restaurant- 239 99 15 55
“Tó dos Frangos” Restaurant - 239 99 53 09
_N. Sra. da Piedade:
Burgo "Restaurant"- 239 99 11 62
PLACES TO STAY
_ Lousã:
“Hotel Mélia Palácio da Lousã - Boutique Hotel - 239 99 08 00
Lousã Youth Hostel - 239 99 43 54
"Residencial Bem-Estar" Hostal- 239 99 14 45;
"Residencial Martinho" Hostal- 239 99 13 97
_Talasnal:
"Casa Princesa Peralta" Rural Tourism - 239 44 17 87; 963 08 67 54
“Casa Lausus” - 239 44 17 87; 963 08 67 54
_Ceira dos Vales:
"Quintal de Além do Ribeiro" Rural Tourism - 239 99 64 80
_Serpins:
"Casa Vale do Linteiro" Rural Tourism - 239 40 43 77
_Casal de Ermio:
"Casa da Eira Apícola" Rural Tourism - 239 99 18 60
HANDCRAFT
GASTRONOMY
“Atelier da Cerdeira” - 933 46 77 29
"Migas” bread and meat stew
Candal Schist Villages Shop- 239 99 13 93
Sardines in breadcrumbs
“Lojinha do Talasnico” Shop - 967 53 73 75/9
Salt cod “tibornada no lagar”
“O Retalhinho” Shop - 966 90 95 97
Beirão liqueur
Pottery, miniature mountain houses
Urze honey
(in schist), traditional sieves and fly nets
Honey “serranitos”,
“Talasnico” cakes from the Lousã mountains
Boiled or grilled kid
right way
wrong way
turn left
code of conduct
Follow sign-posted trails only; Avoid making unnecessary noise;
Never scare the animals; Do not damage any vegetation;
Do not litter and leave no trace of your visit;
Do not light fire;
Do not collect or damage plants or rocks;
Be kind to people you find along the way;
useful contacts
SOS Emergency : 112
SOS Forest Fires: 117
Anti-venom informations: 808 25 01 43
Lousã Police: 239 99 52 56
Local Fire Department: 239 99 05 30
Health Center: 239 99 51 87
Trail Promoter _ Associação Activar: 239 99 61 16; 917 25 19 74
Lousã Municipality: 239 99 03 70
Tourism Office: 239 99 03 76
Parish Council: 239 99 63 86
Schist Village Network - ADXTUR: 275 647 700; 960 10 18 73
www.aldeiasdoxisto.pt
_promoters
_support
_ walking trail in process of registration and approval by
Louzã Henriques Museum
turn right
Lousã Schist Walking Trail 1
The Mills Route
PR1
LSA
distance
duration
trail type
6 Km
2h 30 min
loop
altitude variation
altitude max/min
rise
Lousã Schist Trail 1
PR1
_Walk direction: no recommended direction
133 m
Lousã
PR1
1
3
2
580
PR2
Rio Arouce
Ribeira
das Hortas
Porto
Ribeira
da Fórnea
PR2.1
PR2
6
Coimbra
5
4
6
23
This route starts near the Town Hall and continues to the town's parish
church that was built in the 19th Century. From Cândido dos Reis square
you will reach the Viscondessa do Espinhal Palace. The road then forks,
and we take the right hand side, carrying on until we reach the Prado
paper factory that was set up in 1716. From here the route continues
off-road, following the “mills of the São João stream route”. This section
of the route is really beautiful, with vegetation on one side and
spectacular views of the Lousã mountain on the other. Further ahead,
and next to the stream, we will see the irrigation channels that carried
water to the factory. When we get here we have two options: either
cross the stream and follow the narrow path through the vegetation,
that takes us to the “Senhora da Piedade” caves (recommended route),
or continue to the left, upstream, to discover the São João stream mills.
The route returns via the other option. Between the “Senhora da
Piedade” section and the castle the path follows the same route as the
PR 2 route. If you have taken the recommended option, the return route
passes via the castle, and follows the course of the S. João stream for a
while, where the mills can be found. It then joins back up with the
original trail that will take you back to Lousã. Caution is advised on this
route with heavy rain, because it may become impracticable as the route
crosses the stream and follows the banks that may get flooded.
Talasnal, Casal Novo and Chiqueiro
276 m
190 m
Ribeira
de S. João
Casal Novo
The common initital and final section of this walking route follow the streets
of the historical old town of Lousã. The building of Lousã town hall, where
the route begins, dates from the 20th century (1930/1934) and was built
next to the sixteenth century pillory. The parish church, built in the 19th
century, dominates the granite paved Cândido dos Reis Square. The
Viscondessa do Espinhal Palace that was built in the 18th century, and is
listed as a site of historic heritage, was recently converted into a hotel. The
Prado paper factory, where the route leaves the town is still operational.
The Nossa Senhora da Piedade sanctuary is on the hill opposite to the
Castle. There are four chapels here and the oldest was built in the 15th
century. Lousã Castle, also known as Arunce Castle, is one of the few castles
built in schist. It was part of one of the earliest defence lines created to
control access to Coimbra from the south in the second half of the 11th
century. In 1124 an Islamic incursion took the castle and, according to an
ancient legend, during this period the castle was used by the Arab leader to
protect his daughter Peralta and his treasures after he was defeated and
expelled from Conimbriga. Along the banks of the S. João stream seven of
the about fifty watermills that exist in this region can be found. These tell
us much about the history of Lousã and its millers.
Talasnal
Lisboa
Ribeira
da Vergada
Chiqueiro
MAPS: Military map 1/25.000 nº 252
0
200
400
600
800 1000 m
Places of interest and distance to the starting point:
1 _ Prado paper factory _ 1200m (PR1)
caption
2 _ Water mills _ 1900m (PR1)
4 _ N. Sra. da Piedade (Sanctuary) _ 3000m(PR1) 5050m(PR2)
5 _ Ermida hydroelectric power station _ 1100m (PR2)
6 _ Cross _ 3150m (PR1)m e 4720m (PR2)
Talasnal Village
PR 1
walking trail
conditioned section
paved road
dirt road
water course
3 _ Lousã castle _ 2610m (PR1)
natural heritage
Lousã Castle
difficulty level
Departure and arrival point:
_Lousã Town Hall (40º 06' 43.43'' N 8º 14' 47.83" W)
The difficulty level is determined according to 4 diferent factors,
each one of them rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (from easiest to most difficult)
220
180
3
2
4
physical difficulty
260
220
type of terrain
300
260
orientation
PR1
300
overall difficulty
altimetry
2
180
0
0,5
1
1,5
altitude
variation (m)
2
2,5
3
3,5
4
4,5
5
when to go
5,5
distance (m)
S. João stream
Impracticable trail section during the winter and on days of
heavy rain, due to high water levels (stream crossing and
banks) and slippery ground.
The Lousã Mountains are the home of important communities of plants and
wildlife both in terms of biodiversity and conservation, including species
and habitats protected by National and International Directives. Of particular importance are the fescue, the daffodil, the ruivaco, the gold-striped
salamander, Schreiber's green lizard, the black stork, Montagu's
Harrier, the common kingfisher and the otter. Although most of the forest
has species which have been introduced recently in forestry operations
such as pine trees and eucalyptus, you can also still find areas with
Mediterranean species such as the Holm oak, the Portuguese oak, the cork
oak, the strawberry tree and aromatic herbs, in particular near the streams.
As well as the common wildlife found in national mountainous areas, you
may also see two species of deer, the leaf deer and the European roe deer.
These animals were reintroduced to the area in 1996, and despite being
timid and territorial, they are now established throughout the mountains.