S1: "The landscape and the granitic forms of Serra da Freita


2023/2024 | Saídas de Campo no Arouca Geopark

Synopsis: In Serra da Freita we can observe a set of granitic landscapes such as “chaos of blocks”, residual reliefs, or flattened surfaces. Associated with these, there are also curious granitic forms such as rocky domes, “castle koppie”,  linear cracks, polygonal cracks or others, which can be observed when we walk along the mountain, where the granitic sand appears at our feet. The murmur of the waters identifies our proximity to the valley of the Caima river, characteristically tight in the granitic region. In the river you can see giant potholes and the proof of human strength, in ancient times, which take advantage of the waters. It is exactly in the village of Castanheira, at «Casa das Pedras Parideiras» that we begin our visit to discover the stories of Planet Earth and Man, where we contact to the specifics of the Nodular Granite of Castanheira - the «Birthing Stones», a geosite of international relevance of the Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark.

Region | Departure / arrival point: Serra da Freita | Aldeia da Castanheira - Pedras Parideiras / Detrelo da Malhada. 

Extension / Difficulty / Duration: 1000 m / easy / 3h00 * 

Points of interest: Panoramic Geosites of Detrelo da Malhada (G1), Caima River Potholes (G4), Frecha da Mizarela (G6), Lithological contact of Mizarela (G5), and Pedras Parideiras (G7) / Casa das Pedras Parideiras and Leisure area of Albergaria da Serra. 

Price (per student): 5.00 Euros (free for accompanying teachers) 

Promoter / Reservations: AGA - Arouca Geopark Association; Reservations by completing and submitting the form below, 15 working days in advance. For more information, please contact geral@aroucageopark.pt (preferred) or +351 256 940 254 or +351 915 435 846.

Notes:

- The journey between the different visiting points is carried out on the group bus;

- Each bus will be accompanied by a guide;

- For each program, per monitor, a maximum of 50 students and a minimum od 15 are admitted. For lower or higher number of participants, please contact the services;

- The auditorium of 'Casa das Pedras Parideiras' has capacity for 30 people;

- In case of rain, snow, thunderstorm or very cold weather forecasts, we suggest changing the visit date.

*average time