The best MTB trails around Zóio

Bragança Castle, located in northeastern Portugal, is one of the most impressive and well-preserved medieval castles in the country. Keep: At 33 meters high, it is one of the most imposing in Portugal. Inside, it houses the Bragança Military Museum, where you can see a vast collection of light weaponry, from the 12th century to the First World War. From the top of the tower, there is a breathtaking view over the old city, the new part of Bragança, and the surrounding mountains (Montesinho, Sanábria). The Princess Tower is an old residential outbuilding (Alcáçova Tower) famous for a tragic love legend. In the citadel, you can stroll through the streets within the walls, where the medieval atmosphere remains almost intact.

Here you cycle in a rural and mountainous environment, where the peaks follow one another as far as the eye can see. The road passes through deep valleys and rolling hills covered with varied vegetation. In the distance, the silhouettes of the mountains create layers of shades of blue and gray that blend with the sky, especially with the soft light of sunrise or sunset.

The Vinhais Biological Park is a protected natural area and conservation center located in the municipality of Vinhais, in northern Portugal, within the Montesinho Natural Park. This park plays an important role in the conservation of local biodiversity and in the promotion of environmental education.

This is a beautiful reservoir, with calm waters where you can even spot big fish, although fishing is prohibited. On sunny days (which is almost always), the view of the lake is simply breathtaking. You can cycle along the entire western side of the lake.

Nice break location

Located in the heart of the Montesinho Natural Park, the Vinhais Biological Park invites you to discover the local landscape in all its forms, from fauna and flora to geology, culture and history. A space dedicated to conservation, biodiversity and ecotourism.

It is not known when the castle was built or which monarch ordered it, however some authors argue that it was King D. Dinis, since there are references to works in Praça de Vinhais with the construction of some towers during his reign. Due to its border location, the castle had great military importance, as the territory had always been coveted by neighboring monarchs.

The walls of Vinhais date back to the time of the Roman invasion. Later, the Suebi or Visigoths reinforced and broadened the defensive line in the context of the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. During the reign of King Denis of Portugal, the oval fence of the village was finished, with six towers, two of them flanking the main gate and one other, also integrated in the fence, functioning as a keep and an alcove. The castle's configuration, currently very dilapidated, would have a medieval image, in a late Gothic style. Already during the reign of King Manuel I of Portugal the degradation of the walls and of some towers was remarkable. Some bases of the old towers, a portal with a Gothic arch and a section of the barbican still remain.