Rural Tourism is increasingly becoming an escape from urban stress.
If, on the one hand, a few years ago there was an almost permanent success of the rural exodus, on the other hand, we are now witnessing a regression of the rural exodus in terms of tourism.
Not that this assumes a permanent duration, but it is already an advance in the evolution of a proximity tourism with the diversity of fauna and flora.
Rural tourism is thus becoming, especially in the summer, a factor of social and economic development in rural areas.
And that leads us to the question: why do rural tourism in the summer?
The answer is easy! Rural tourism is a concept of escape from the complex days in the urban environment and is assumed as a holiday destination where you can relax in a calmer environment.
And the truth is that rural tourism has everything to replace the monotonous tourism of a city with thousands of people. In rural areas there are river beaches, radical activities, fauna, flora and trails with breathtaking landscapes.
The cold land, as they call it in winter, becomes hot in summer, which makes it possible to do various family activities.
We can start with the accommodation. Located in the village of Gimonde, one of the gateways to the Natural Park of Montesinho, A.Montesinho has six accommodation houses to enjoy family holidays with the tranquility and fullness of the undulating plateaus cut by deep valleys embedded.
In the village of Rio de Onor, a social identity different from the big cities is assumed. Talking to the inhabitants of the village you get to know stories from the past. Stories that can be felt in the stones of the ex-libris of the village, the Roman Bridge. And even if the social development has imposed a social depopulation, what is certain is that it has not imposed a cultural depopulation in the transmontan village. It is possible, still, to know stories of long-lasting traditions, as is the case of the oven and the community mill.
From the Natural Park of Montesinho stands out the immense flora and fauna that are in a perfect symbiosis. The Iberian wolf and the red deer are the main characters in a list of over 150 animal species. The flora includes heather, cistus, gypsum and scrubland, which provide the green colour to the Natural Park of Montesinho and embellish the trails.
Of the various trails, the Porto Furado trail stands out. It is almost 8 km long and is a perfect meeting point with water courses coming from the mountains, which eventually meet up with the Andorinhas stream.
Rural tourism thus offers a wide range of opportunities to discover the unknown, to get to know the traditions and cultures of regions which are now populated by history.
