Rural Tourim

Pontes is a deserted village in Castro Laboreiro, the heart of Peneda Gerês National Park.

 

Last people abandoned Aldeia de Pontes 15 years ago, because they were just 2 women and they were afraid of the robberies, so they chose to live in their other house in the heigh zone of Castro Laboreiro. Because it is usual in Castro Laboreiro people have 2 houses, one in the heigh zone of Castro Laboreiro at 1200 meters heigh over the sea, for the spring, the summer and the autumn  and other in the low zone of Castro Laboreiro at 700 meters height over the sea to live in the winter months.

 

In the middle of the last century when Pontes had more people, Pontes had 7 families and around 30 people, the main activities was the shepherd, the agriculture (potato and rye), the beekeeping and the men seasonally emigrate for Spain or France. Like another's small villages in our country, on the 90s and 2000s the people stars to leave Aldeia de Pontes to study to find work in the cities and the elders die, so the number of people in Pontes starts to decrease.

 

In Aldeia the Pontes it was usual for people to make the things in community, so we have a community threshing floor, a community mill, a community oven and people helped each other on the more small tasks, because the times were hard and the land wasn’t rich or productive.

 

Our project consists in giving back life to this small village, taking advantage from the past and adapting to the current times, but always with care to preserve our culture and the natural sustainability.

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Our activity consists in three things, beekeeping, the shepherd and rural tourism.

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