Day 1 – Saturday (03/08/2024)
We packed our bags and left Cascais late in the morning towards Lousã Mountain Range. We wanted a weekend in nature and the Serra da Lousã Biological Park and the Schist Villages of Cerdeira and Talasnal were in my wishlist, so when we decided we were going to travel, I thought this itinerary would be a good choice. On the way there, I went on Booking to book our hotel and looked for restaurants for lunch before visiting the park. It was very last minute and I confess that I liked it and want to do it again!
Lunch at the Chanfana Museum Restaurant
We chose the Chanfana Museum to try the famous Chanfanas, a typical dish from the region that is a type of lamb stew. Both the dish and the restaurant were highly recommended by the couple from the blog Vagamundos, which I love, so I booked our table through The Fork without blinking.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I was surprised by the number of award stickers from Boa Cama Boa Mesa and others on the restaurant door. These stickers are always a guarantee of good food. 🙂
We ordered couvert, wedding soup, 2 portions of chanfanas and house wine and everything was delicious. The waiter explained to us that the soup was a kind of use-up of the chanfana sauce – I already knew because I had read the explanation on this site – and I have to say that the red cabbage went really well in the soup. Celo and I loved it, as did the house wine! The children only ate the meats in the Chanfanas and luckily they liked them too, but the sides of boiled potatoes and sautéed cabbage weren’t very popular.
Visit to the Serra da Lousã Biological Park
We left the restaurant satisfied and walked through a corridor to the ticket office. Serra da Lousã Biological Park. We bought family tickets for the 4 of us and also 1 bag of food for the farm animals and paid 44.50 euros.
We won a very explanatory map printed and we followed the suggested route of animals on the educational farm and then wild animals. We saw a donkey, chickens, pigs, peacocks, rabbits, horses, ducks and goats on the farm and the children really enjoyed feeding some of them, even though they weren't that hungry.
We crossed the bridge and went straight to see the bears, because that was what they were most curious about. We saw 2 brown bears in the space reserved for them and I thought the whole situation was quite sad. We kept walking and saw other animals, such as owls, deer, goats, turtles, wild boars, wolves and weasels, but the children quickly got tired. I don't know if it's because the park is on a hill and therefore has a lot of ups and downs, or if it was because it was a hot summer day, but the fact is that I don't think they were crazy about it. Maybe they also feel sorry for the trapped animals like we do.
In the descent of the wild animals, we saw the Hotel Park Serra da Lousã, which looks very nice, we saw the reptile area closed for construction and entered the maze formed by fruit trees that was a hit with the whole family. We then went to the museum, which had some very interesting old items on display, and ended our visit to the park.
I found it very well organized and maintained, and I liked knowing that most of the animals there could not return to live on their own in the wild for various reasons, so the park ends up being a sanctuary for them. It reminded me of Jaguar Rescue Center that we visited in Costa Rica!
Cerdeira
After almost 7 thousand steps taken – checked on my smart watch – we sat down in the air-conditioned car with relief and hit the road to the schist village of Cerdeira, considered by the blog Vagamundos – look at them again here! – the most charming of all in the region. The hotel I booked for the two nights of this trip was in this village and when we got there, it was love at first sight. We parked outside the village, walked across a bridge with a stream running underneath and a water fountain on the left, and entered a place that seemed to have stopped in time. All the houses with their schist stones and unique charms, the streets also paved with these stones and potted plants, everything extremely impeccable and I dare say magical. I felt an enormous peace there.
I later discovered, reading the brochure in our accommodation, that this village was abandoned for a few years in the 1970s, until a lady who was hiking in the mountains found it and fell in love with it. A few years later, she and a couple of friends created a space dedicated to art and nature, with a sustainable approach, and the project was a huge success and has already won several awards.
Our Accommodation in Cerdeira
We stayed at the Cerdeira Home for Creativity (rating 9.2 / 246 euros for two nights with breakfast at the last minute in summer). If you enter the their official website, I think you will be able to feel the vibe a little and understand why this place is so special.
We did the check-in in the store located below Café da Videira – and everything is part of the same project – and we were well received by Tiago, who took us to our House of the Sun. Unfortunately it didn't have a balcony with a clear view of the valley like the house in front had, but it was super cozy and there was a small balcony on the second floor that was very nice. Some photos:
We left our things at the house and went to dinner at the village café. We ordered cheese and ham sandwiches, a cheese board, soup and juices and ended the day happily. I found it delicious to eat in such a calm and uncomplicated place that we even went back the next day. When we got home, we took advantage of the fact that it was still daylight and went with the local jug to get water from the village spring, something recommended by Tiago. At first, I was scared to drink water straight from the spring, but after we tried it and found it tastier than bottled water, we continued drinking only that – and we are doing great!
We ended the day super well in our cozy little house.
Day 2 – Sunday (04/08/2024)
We woke up early with the little ones and when it was 8:30 am, we went out to have breakfast at Café da Videira. I found it to be very complete with bread, cake, eggs, cheese, fruit, yogurt and drinks and since we were the only ones there at the first hour, we got a nice table outside and enjoyed ourselves.
We then took a leisurely stroll through the village, visiting the spring and the stream again, and going to the arts and crafts house down below the village. What I thought was really cool was that cars aren't allowed there, so the kids could roam freely without us having to worry too much, you know? Of course, we always kept an eye out for them falling down the steps, the bridge over the spring, or the cliff, but I felt a wonderful sense of freedom when I didn't see any cars. I highly recommend it for anyone with exploring kids! Just look how cute it is:
Once we had covered everything, we decided to leave the village to explore the region and our first stop was an 18-minute drive away, at Lousã Castle.
Our Lady of Mercy River Beach
We parked the car right in front of the castle and as we were eager to take a dip in the river beach, we ended up just looking at it from the outside. We went down a few steps and reached the Our Lady of Mercy River Beach, which had been recommended by our host the day before. What a nice and exciting place!
We were all excited about what we saw, especially when we realized that there were very shallow areas for children and deeper areas for those who wanted to stay in water up to their bodies or dive without fear. I soon found the bathrooms, which were very tidy, and a café where I immediately thought we would have lunch, since the restaurant “O Burgo” on the beach was closed.
We put our things in a corner in the shade and went into the water to enjoy it. Fortunately, the water wasn't as cold as the sea in Cascais, but it wasn't very pleasant. We struggled a bit to stay in the water, but once we got used to it, it was hard to get out. Paddy and Celo decided to dive in the deep end of the pool, and Juju and I stayed in the shallow end without complicating our lives. I thought it was wonderful that the floor wasn't sand, but concrete, and that there were no fish there because there were dams in front that prevented them from getting into the leisure area. Yes, I hate fish and other animals in the water where I'm diving, especially if the water is a little dark... lol
When hunger struck, Celo and Paddy went to get us burgers and juices from the café and we ate in style. picnic next to the shallow pool. We all loved the burgers! We stayed there a little longer to digest and enjoy the lovely sunny day and then Celo went up to get the car and pick us up down there.
The children rolled over in the car after less than 10 minutes of driving and we were able to stroll around the tourist attractions we were interested in – the “Isto é Lousã” frame, the schist village of Chiqueiro and the “Isto é Lousã” viewpoint – without having to wake them up.
“This is Lousã” frame
We first stopped at the “Isto é Lousã” frame, recommended by the Vagamundos blog, but I must admit I was disappointed. The frame is poorly maintained, the surroundings have no charm and the view is compromised by tall trees right in front.
To make up for this disappointment, the road right after was spectacular with a beautiful forest and everything turned out fine! Just look at this:
Shale Village Chiqueiro
We saw a sign for the schist village Chiqueiro on the road and stopped for a quick stop so I could get out and see what it was like. It was also cute, but quite small and had some houses under construction, which I found interesting because I could see what they were made of inside. Take a look:
“This is Lousã” Viewpoint
Then we continued on the road to see the viewpoint with the letters of Lousã and since Celo thought the parking space was too bad for a car that wasn't a 4x4, we parked on the shoulder of the road. This place is better maintained and the view is also a little better. Take a look:
Trevim Swing
We drove a little further to the Trevim Swing, which had been recommended for sunset, but ended up being done at that time for practicality's sake. We went first without the kids to try it out and wow!! It really is very high and when you swing you get butterflies in your stomach because of the unobstructed view. We stayed with the feeling that we were going to fly! Very, very cool.
I made sure to go back to the car and wake up the two little ones so they could enjoy the swing too. Jubs was happy and cheerful and Paddy was complaining because he wished he had slept more. These kids these days… lol
In the end we all loved the experience and thought it was worth the stop.
Talasnal
We then continued on to the Schist Village Talasnal, which is also famous in the region for its nature views, quality Portuguese cuisine and charming little houses with flowers. We walked around all the corners, played with the water fountain and its paths – my kids love anything with water, especially Paddy – and then we went looking for a good restaurant for dinner, but we couldn't find anything with good reviews. We ended up going to Bar O Curral because it had a beautiful view and was empty, and we ordered chouriço and bifanas, very traditional Portuguese dishes. Everything was delicious, but not very healthy, right? There weren't many options either... lol
Tip: If you want to eat at a good restaurant in this village, check out Ti Lena, which seems to be the best in Talasnal. I thought it was a shame that it wasn't open on the day we went (Sunday).
Candal
On the way between Talasnal and our accommodation in Cerdeira, we stopped in front of the Aldeia de Xisto de Candal, which is right on the road, and took a “look around”, as they say here. Since the children were tired, we thought it best not to go down to explore the steep streets, but my mother-in-law had been there and found it very interesting.
Fox in Cerdeira
We returned to our village and when we parked the car in the parking lot, we came across a curious fox. It scared us at first, but after we realized that it was calm, we started following it to get a closer look. It was so cute!
We played a little bit throwing stones and leaves into the stream and then went to Café da Videira to have a healthier snack before going to bed. We ordered bruschetta, soup and granola with yogurt and we had a visit from the fox inside the village. What fun it was! We ate peacefully and then went to rest in our little house. We were able to enjoy the sunset a little from our mini side balcony on the second floor and I imagined what it must be like to stay in the house with the front balcony with an unobstructed view. Who knows, maybe one day we'll go back and stay there, right? 🙂
Day 3 – Monday (08/05/2024)
We woke up without rushing, packed our things and went to have breakfast at 8:30 am at Café da Videira. The fox appeared again and we were very excited again!
Since Celo had to go home to work, we played just a little bit by throwing stones in the stream, filled our plastic bottles at the fountain and did the checkout without stress. We hit the road with the kids awake and after some time on the road, we had to stop at a Colibri gas station to stretch our legs and buy some better snacks.
We arrived in Cascais at lunchtime, after all it was almost 2h30 on the road, and the kids were euphoric when they saw their toys that they hadn't seen for 2 days.
There's nothing like coming home feeling renewed! 🙂
