The São Leonardo de Galafura Viewpoint is a must-visit place, with a unique view over the immense and imposing Douro. Don’t miss it.
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From the top of its imposing 640 meters high, the Miradouro de São Leonardo de Galafura does not deceive. It really is a privileged balcony overlooking the immense Douro, a region whose monumentality never ceases to amaze us.
Close to Covelinhas, in the parish of Galafura, in the municipality of Peso da Régua, the viewpoint leaves no one indifferent and is also a wonderful place for a family outing.
Nearby, there is a chapel, a picnic area (with stone benches and plenty of shade, where you can have a picnic) and a geodesic landmark. And, of course, the wonderful landscape of the Douro, which spreads as far as the eye can see.
Saint Leonard of Galafura: Miguel Torga conquered
The hard cliffs that compress the Douro River are the landing of terraces hewn by force by human hand and from which one of the most famous nectars in the world, Port Wine, flows. Extraordinary table wines are also cultivated there, but the oldest demarcated region in the world has Porto as its drink of choice.
From the São Leonardo de Galafura Viewpoint, you can observe the rows of vines that follow the meandering of the river and wonder how it is possible to harvest there. But it is done and the result is, as everyone knows, magnificent.
As we are a few hundred meters above sea level, it is still possible to glimpse, on clearer days, the regions of Armamar, Sabrosa, Tabuaço, Fontelo and Valença do Douro.
an excess of nature
In the place you will also find a panel of tiles, which displays a text of Miguel Torga, most likely the most famous Douro writer of the 20th century. Born nearby (São Martinho da Anta, municipality of Sabrosa), he fell in love with São Leonardo de Galafura.
Miguel Torga was born a few kilometers from São Leonardo de Galafura, in the village of São Martinho de Anta, in the municipality of Sabrosa. A deep connoisseur of the region, the writer from Trás-os-Montes said that “São Leonardo was like a boat with its keel in the air, which Nature had returned to in the middle of the valley.”
Also in his Diário XII from this viewpoint he wrote on April 8, 1977: ‘The Douro sublimated. The prodigy of a landscape that ceases to be so by dint of being disproportionate.
It is not a panorama that the eyes contemplate: it is an excess of nature. Terraces that are passed down from titanic men climbing the slopes, volumes, colors and modulations that no sculptor painted or musician could translate, horizons expanded beyond the plausible thresholds of vision.
A virginal universe, as if it had just been born, and already eternal because of the harmony, the serenity, the silence that not even the river dares to break, now disappearing stealthily behind the hills, now stunned deep down to reflect the your own astonishment. A geological poem. Absolute beauty.’
enchanted legends
The viewpoint is also an area of legends. It is said that there is an enchanted Moorish girl, Dona Mirra, who walks through the woods and, at night, takes refuge in a cave on the rocky slope.
It is said that there a Moorish king built a palace whose walls are lined with gold plates and whose ceilings are inlaid with precious stones, to live there with his daughter, Dona Mirra.
The entrance faces east and is defended by two cliffs leaning against the vertex which, according to legend, narrow during the day, to prevent intruders from passing through, and move away at night, so that its residents can go out to contemplate the river and the stars.
If anyone dares to go through that door, he will be crushed relentlessly by the two rocks that come together, by the magical powers of the Moorish king. A series of adventures encircle the legend, always with the aim of freeing the unfortunate Mirra. But it is said that she is still there, enchanted in the palace with the beauty of São Leonardo de Galafura.
How to go?
If you are in the area of Peso da Régua and Pinhão, exit at Covelinhas. Afterwards, head to the top of São Leonardo. Those traveling from Vila Real should take national road 313 (Parque Industrial) and look for the words indicating Miradouro.
GPS coordinates: Latitude 41° 10′ 21.684″ Longitude: 7° 40′ 19.887″
ruler weight and Saint Leonard of Galafura
If you visit the Miradouro de São Leonardo de Galafura, also go to Peso da Régua and enjoy everything this city has to offer.
This is the first demarcated wine producing region in the world, Régua worked as a commercial warehouse, from where the boats with port wine left and arrived.
The surrounding landscape, the Alto Douro wine region, is a World Heritage Site, classified by UNESCO. In addition to the views, here it is worth getting to know the manor houses, the large wine producing estates and the small palaces.
In cultural terms, the Douro Museum, the Solar do Vinho do Porto and the Casa do Douro are worth a visit.
