Douro Valley, is a Portuguese most beautiful and oldest wine region in the world, often known for its world famous wine heritage and vineyards, River Douro, historic towns, Quintas and hiking and kayaking activities. The place is also blessed by the olive groves, slope, mediaeval village cling and slumber under vast skies.
If you are an enthusiastic backpacker visiting Douro valley for the first time, surely you have to taste port wine is a crucial thing. But rather than, you can also explore other beautiful things like culture, history, nature and specialities like cuisines are a matter of consideration here. Hike amidst vineyards, gourmet dining and explore its Palaeolithic rock painting and Romans vineyards are must explore facts.
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Top 7 Things to Do in Douro Valley, Portugal
1. Take a Wine Tour
Douro Valley is a stunning landscape region filled by the perfect wine options. Often known as ‘Wine Heritage’, the region became a wine centre for visitors from 1756, making it the oldest wine region in Europe. Wineries offer guided tours where you can learn about the winemaking process including vineyards and samples of multiple wine options. Never forget to stop your wine tour at Pinhao, a tiny Douro Valley.
Port Wine is a special thing under your wine tour in Douro valley which includes best known national products around the world. It is a Portuguese identity where visitors can taste more unique and high quality wines, witnessing century old history. Such a tasty wine available only in the Douro Valley region and comes in several styles.
Some of the regions famous Wine Tours
- Full Day Douro Valley Private Wine Tour: €215.
- Douro Valley Private Wine Tastings (including Cruise and Mateus Palace Tour): €271.
- Wine Tour with visits to 2 wineries, cruise and lunch: €99.
- Full day wine tastings (lunch and river cruise from Porto): €0.
2. River Cruise
Taking a cruise in the Douro River is another fantastic way to explore the beauty of Douro Valley. Despite the wine tour, river cruise is the perfect way to blend the valley’s breath-taking sceneries and surrounding landscapes. Doro valley, renowned for its most picturesque river valley, offers more dramatic cliffs, lush hillsides, mediaeval villages and fine vineyards. Douro Explorer and Lisbon and the Heart of the Douro are the major river cruises available to visitors.
Cruise on the Douro River, renowned UNESCO listed wine terraces carpeting the surrounding slopes. Make sure that your Douro river cruise boat ride immerses you in the history, culture and local life of the region. River cruise will exhibit places such as Mateus Palace and gardens, nearby local wine estates, Salamanca, Porto, Lisbon and cobbled streets in small riverside villages. Spring and autumn are the most recommended seasons to take a river cruise in the Douro River.
3. Hiking in the Hills and Near Vineyards
Hiking makes visitors’ trips more memorable especially if they are in Douro Valley. Valley known number of hiking trails with varying levels of difficulties. Not just famous for vineyards and river cruise, hiking in Douro valley trying to exhibit the region’s pristine vineyards, pinewoods and almond groves. Usually hiking here is more challenging and requires 3 and 4 hours of time for hiking.
Your hiking journey passes through Vineyards and forest of the Upper Douro, visitors can easily spot griffon vultures wheeling on the thermals. Along with that, hiking allows us to explore the extraordinary history of the Coa’ Valley Archaeological Park. Where we can spot prehistoric art dating back to 22,000 BC and rugged rocks. Coa Museum, displays and replica art. Walking along the trails which connect with nature, views of the river and vineyards as well as diverse flora and faunas.
4. Explore Historic Towns
The Douro Valley is dotted with most vibrant and picture square towns and villages. World famous ‘Lamego’, town in Viseu district mixed with cultural and historical pilgrim’s site, where travellers can spot 686 steps adorned with ornate azulejo tiles belongs to the 18th century Santuario de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios. Along with Lamego, some of the charming cities such as Peso da Regua and Amarante are more popular due to its local architectures, museums and historic sites.
Pinhao is another well-known historic town, stretches along the riverbank and well known for its charming ‘Pinhao Railway Station’. It was built in the 19th century and is popular for its tiles depicting and 24 scenes of rural life which are perfectly depicted on azulejo tiles. Backpackers can take a leisurely stroll through vineyards in Pinhao and visit one of the quintas to taste port wines or indulge in riverfront promenades. Never forget to spend time in Sao Bento Railway Station.
5. Visit Quintas
Quintas is a vineyard estate considered as the most traditional quintas too. If you visit Quintas surely you will come across different experiences of the lifestyle of the winemakers and process to winemaking. Quintas is a large and historic Portuguese wine estate that produces the region’s renowned Port wine, which is so special when it comes to taste and characters. More high quality wine and offers vineyard tours and multiple accommodation options.
Quintas in Douro Valley exhibit chateaux of Bordeaux, source of first rate wine and firm entertains their guests when they visit Douro Valley. Despite that, some offer accommodations and dining allowing you to stay overnight and immerse visitors in the scenic beauty and culinary delights of the region.
6. Taste Local Specialities
Douro Valley has got a more popular name and title from its local specialities and variety of cuisine options. Porto is a place that offers more distinctive cuisine options packed with flavours, ranging from pasteis de bacalhau to stew that are spicier chourico sausage in nature. Also a popular spot for its rustic theme with slow roasted kid, usually serves falling off the bone.
In Lamego, a place under Douro Valley serves flaky pastry slices or buns filled with ham and chourico. However, the village is known for its Castelo Rodrigo surrounded by olive and almond groves. Places popular to purchase honey, almonds, extra virgin olive oil and salty sheep cheese. The Area is filled by the sweetest traits like rebucadosda Regua, boiled sweets made purely from sugar, lemon, herbs and port wines. Near miss to visit Amarante to taste sugar syrup, bolos de Sao Goncalo and creams.
7. Go for Kayaking
The Douro is not just reserved for wine heritage or other outdoor activities, it is also included for kayaking. Since Douro Valley is situated on low water bodies that provides opportunities to visitors to take gentle paddling’s. Adventurous seekers expect kayaking here in a different perspective on the scenery with the complete view of the city and its panoramic valley.
Kayaking available to visitors on the Pingao rier, which joins the Douro at the eponymous town or Tua. Kayaking starts from a launch point on a traditional flat bottomed rabelo, and passes through gentle drift with rippling water effects and bird chirping on the breeze. If you visit during summer, there are more chances to swim from stony beaches, where visitors feel refreshed amidst the heat of the upper valley.
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