Fraga da Pena

Above the schist village of Benfeita, in the green heart of the Serra do Açor, a stream called the Barroca de Degraínhos finds a ledge of rock and throws itself down in a stair of waterfalls, the tallest some nineteen metres high. Fraga da Pena is one of the most beautiful small places in central Portugal — a cool, mossy amphitheatre reached by a short trail from the Mata da Margaraça, one of the oldest protected woods in the country.

A waterfall kingdom in the Serra do Açor

The forest around the waterfall, the Mata da Margaraça, is a relic of the original vegetation of these mountains — oaks, chestnuts and strawberry trees — protected since the 1970s as a biogenetic reserve, with paths among trees that were already old when the villages around were founded. The waterfall itself sits in the Protected Landscape of the Serra do Açor, whose schist hamlets became famous as the Aldeias do Xisto: Benfeita, with its colourful mural and its community bakeries, makes the natural start of the walk. Other mountain paths lead from the falls towards Piódão itself, the most photographed of the schist villages (see the Piódão page), while the whole landscape is mapped by the Serra do Açor protected landscape.

What to see

• The main waterfall and its successive cascades
• The Mata da Margaraça forest trails
• The schist village of Benfeita
• The old watermills and paths of the valley
• Wild spring flowers and the deep summer shade

Practical information

Fraga da Pena lies near Benfeita, in the municipality of Arganil, about an hour east of Coimbra. The walk from the village takes some 30 minutes; the final descent to the waterfall is steep. The falls have been closed at times for safety after storms; check locally before making the trip. There are picnic places at the Mata da Margaraça entrance.

Image credit: Fraga da Pena by Carla Marques da Silva — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.