It is the third edition of “Abre asas a Mondim”, an initiative that challenges visitors to discover this municipality of Vila Real. A challenge that involves discovering the local natural, gastronomic and cultural heritage, from the iconic waterfalls 400m from Fisgas de Ermelo, in the Alvão mountain range, to the top of the Senhora da Graça Sanctuary, where one of the stages of the tour ends Portugal on a bicycle, passing through PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) maronese meat to moist sponge cake.
The initiative takes place during the month of April and aims to alleviate the seasonality of tourism through nature, sport, music and gastronomy. This month, there will be a vast number of “activities that invite people to visit the municipality of Mondim de Basto at this time of year, when, in fact, there is a greater lack of visitors”, the mayor told Lusa, Bruno Ferreira.
The program includes hiking, motorbike and off-road tours, bicycle trails, canoeing, rafting and canyoning, paragliding (in Senhora da Graça) and the Fisgas de Ermelo trail.
In the third edition of “III Rock no Favo” you can count on concerts by Rita Redshoes, Trabalhadores do Comércio and TT Syndicate.
Teresa Pacheco Miranda
On the 26th, 27th and 28th of April, the Gastronomic Weekend takes place, held in conjunction with Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal.
On walks, you can even add green wine to the tour: on the 14th, the walk is with “Flavors and Landscapes of Atei: between manor houses and vineyards” and includes a tasting of green wines and traditional delicacies, at the same time as giving to discover the landscapes of the Basto sub-region and historic manor houses in this region.
The walk is organized by the company Por Trilhos, created six years ago by the couple Carla Costa and Fernando Portilho who, after 25 years in the city of Porto, decided to return to their origins in Mondi. A creative tourism company that wants to “create differentiating experiences”: “There was no offer at the time and, in fact, Mondim has an incredible natural heritage and there was a lack of someone who could show it to visitors”, Carla Costa told the Lusa agency.
CM Mondim de Basto
The project began with themed trails such as the shepherd or the maronesa that reveal the region while at the same time making visitors aware of these breeds, these professions and their importance for the region. Cycle tourism programs, with electric bicycles, are more recent.
For Carla Costa, the biggest challenge is the international market. “Our objective is to work with the international market to break seasonality”, she highlighted, pointing out the Easter holidays and the months of July and August as times with the greatest demand.
The Mondim Atletismo Association (AMA) organizes the Fisgas de Ermelo trail on April 21st. Luís Cerqueira, director of the AMA, said that this initiative has seen increasing demand and predicts that, in this edition, there will be around a thousand participants in the walk and the “trail” that, this year, is part of the international championship. The majority of those who sign up come from outside this territory and abroad (Italy and Spain).
“Athletes always sell out,” he highlighted, pointing out the particularity of the route that takes participants to the waterfalls, which are considered one of the largest in the Iberian Peninsula.
