Guided Walking Tours Tours in portugal

*  Luxury **** hotel: private swimming pool, exotic gardens, romantic restaurant

*  Fantastic bird & wildlife; eagles, goshawks, cormerants, golden striped salamander and otter

This fully guided holiday introduces you to the Beira, the very heart of central Portugal. It’s a region where life continues as it has for centuries, where little old ladies, dressed in black, sit on doorsteps crocheting and chatting, and where farmers with donkeys continue to plough the land by hand.

Your base for the week is the atmospheric **** star  Convento de Belmonte, overlooking the delightful town. With just 24 rooms, it really does feel a special place to stay and has all the facilities you would expect in a hotel of this level. Antique furnishings adorn all public areas, and all bedrooms have balconies, power-shower, bath, satellite TV, telephone and mini-bar. There is a lovely swimming pool, set beneath exotic gardens, affording beautiful sweeping valley views.

All meals – including wine – are provided throughout your stay. Breakfast is a full buffet and lunches a mix of picnics and local restaurants, depending on the walking day. In the evenings, dinner is served in the romantic, candle-lit dining room. If you fancy a wander into Belmonte for a pre-dinner drink, it’s just 10-15mins on foot. Here there is an impressive C13 castle and a R oman church with striking C16 frescoes.