MTB Trails
Italiano
DeutschTrail Description
This tour connects several historical and small villages around Côa river in the county of Almeida, district of Guarda. It starts in the tiny village of Mido towards Leomil and then follows a few paths of the much larger GR22 - historical villages route - with about 500 km. The present track crosses the historical villages of Castelo Mendo and Almeida. The landscape is dominated by huge granite stones also used to built stone houses and intricate walls to divide small pieces of land. On the east side of Côa river the terrain becomes almost flat and the tracks are leveled. This area also staged battles between the Anglo-Portugese forces lead by Lord Wellington and the Napoleon army. The siege of Almeida started on 24 of July, 1810 and ended on 28 August 1810 when the Portuguese forces surrendered. This however gave enough time for the Anglo-Portuguese army to prepare the battle of Torres Vedras that ultimately defeated the French army. Lord Wellington placed his headquarters in the village of Freineda. The track crosses twice the river Côa - one after Castelo Mendo is made through a small dam (in winter might be flooded) and the second after Almeida through a historical bridge built by military engineers of Wellington´s army after they retreated following a bloody fight at this place.
Almeidahttp://www.cm-almeida.pt/Paginas/default.aspxThe closest train station to this track is Vilar Formoso (about 3 km) just in the border between Portugal and Spain (www.cp.pt).
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