3 Best Sights in Northern Portugal, Portugal

These 185,000 acres of rolling hills comprise one of the most remote and least developed areas of the country. The park is home to a growing population of Iberian wolves, which you're not likely to see except on a guided nature tour. In the villages that dot the park, some ancient traditions survive. Rio de Onor, right on the Spanish border, has traditional dwellings where livestock inhabit the ground floor and humans live in the story above, to be warmed by the animals' body heat in the region's bitterly cold winters. As well as the information on the park on the official website for Portugal's protected areas, there's an Interpretation Center (closed Mon.) in Vinhais, 33 km (20 miles) west of Bragança, with displays on the park and its wildlife, a library, and a café. In addition, local association Montesinho Vivo ( montesinhovivo.pt) offers tips (currently in Portuguese only) on how to visit and stay in the area. For maps and full details of hiking trails, stop by the tourist office in Bragança. 

Extending along 16 km (10 miles) of the coastline north and south of Esposende is the Parque Natural do Litoral Norte, an important haven for birds and plant life. As well as dune habitats through which you can wander on boardwalks, it includes the river beaches of the Cávado estuary and pine and oak forest. Guided visits of up to 10 people can be arranged, but for those who prefer solo exploration, the trails are clearly marked. Depending on which part of the park you are headed for, Autoviação do Minho buses can take you to Fão (for Ofir) and Apúlia, farther south.

This part of the coastline is where you'll find the Mindelo Ornithological Reserve, which became Portugal's first protected area in 1957. One of the few remaining swaths of undeveloped land in the region around Porto, it has 1,500 acres of dunes, fields, and wetlands. It's home to more than 80 bird species and is an important haven for amphibians. The reserve is a 20-minute drive from Vila do Conde; you can also take the metro to Varziela or Espaço Natureza, from where it's a 15-minute walk to the marked trails—or to the boardwalk along the dunes.