Next Saturday, May 14, is the day to walk in Famalicão and to discover the natural landscape, the heritage and the villages of Louro, Lemenhe, Cruz and Mouquim. The start of the 9th Walk in Famalicão is scheduled for 14h30, near the Santo do Monte Chapel, in Louro, for a circular route of about 16 kilometres that goes through the four parishes, connecting chapels and churches.
Comfortable sports shoes and clothes, good mood and water are the necessary requirements for this recreational walk in famalicense lands, as well as previous inscription, which guarantees insurance to all participants and that can be done in www.famalicaodesportivo.pt/_caminhada_concelhia until 12h00 next Friday, or in person, on the same day, with the organisation.
Starting at the top of the S. Barnabé hill, next to the Santo do Monte chapel, the route winds through rural areas and green woods, interspersed by streams and brooks, the engines of a countless number of mills, related to many agricultural and manor houses, and which will fertilise the copious vineyards and finally strengthen the flow of the East River.
Then we follow a dirt track which runs through a barren eucalyptus forest, reaching the highest point of the path (250m) and the middle of the walk. We begin the descent and walk through the woods and Quinta de Pindela, in São Tiago da Cruz, classified as a Monument of Public Interest. Next to the Casa da Torre wine cellar, you go on to the Formiga eco route, which you walk all the way to the end, then go up and return to the starting point: the Santo do Monte square.
The walks are promoted by Vila Nova de Famalicão City Hall in partnership with the associations Calcantes, Grucamo and Corpo Nacional de Escutas. Its organisation has given rise to the creation of the Famalicão Trails, four of which are already signposted and with information available from the municipality's portal.