Serra da Estrela () is the highest

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

Continental Portugal Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and ...

. Together with the Serra da Lousã it is the westernmost constituent range of the Sistema Central and also one of the highest in the system. It includes

mainland Portugal Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 9 ...

's highest point at above mean sea level (although the summit of Mount Pico in the Portuguese

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

islands is higher). This point is not a distinctive mountain summit, but rather the highest point in a plateau, being known as Torre ("Tower" in English). Torre is an unusual summit in that it is accessible by a paved road. The peak has a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of and its parent peak is

Pico Almanzor Pico Almanzor is the highest mountain in central Spain. Situated in the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, Almanzor is high. It is made of granite. The mountain is also known as ''Pico de Almanzor'' and ''Moro Almanzor''. History The mo ...

, in Spain. The mountain range, situated between the municipalities of Seia, Manteigas, Gouveia, Guarda and Covilhã, is about long and is across at its widest point. It is formed from a huge

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

ridge that once formed the southern frontier of the country.

Rivers

Highest police station in portugal (4349393550)

Serra da Estrela - Nossa Senhora escavada na rocha

There are three rivers that have their headwaters in the Serra da Estrela: the Mondego, which is the longest river entirely within Portuguese territory; and the Zêzere, which is a tributary of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

; a tributary of the Mondego, the Alva also has its headwaters in the range. It is high.

Nature Park

The mountain range is now part of the

Serra da Estrela Natural Park Serra da Estrela Natural Park is situated in the largest mountain range in Portugal - the Serra da Estrela, and is the source of the rivers Mondego, Zêzere (tributary of the Tagus), and Alva. The park is the largest natural conservation area ...

and offers

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

opportunities in the

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

of Loriga, Seia Municipality.

Serra da Estrela dog

The

Cão da Serra da Estrela The Estrela Mountain Dog ( pt, cão da Serra da Estrela) is a large breed of dog from the Estrela Mountains of Portugal bred to guard herds and homesteads. It is "one of the oldest breeds in the Iberian Peninsula." Description Coat ...

(''Estrela Mountain Dog'') is a breed of livestock guardian dog that takes its name from this region.

Serra da Estrela sheep and cheese

'' Queijo Serra da Estrela'' (Serra da Estrela cheese) is a soft

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

from the region of Serra da Estrela. The recipe is more than 2000 years old. It is made from cardoon thistle, raw sheep's milk and salt. The cheese is soft and gooey. The cheese becomes harder and chewier as time goes by. The region's ancient ''bordaleira'' sheep are also prized for their wool.

Cuisine

The region's cuisine is well-regarded and includes dishes such as breaded sweet sardines and Juniper beef stew. Smoked meat (fumeiro) and traditional sausages (enchidos) are in abundance, the nettle sausage (alheira de urtiga) among them. Though the region has a very small local Jewish population, it has emerged as a center for Kosher food, with local producers launching kosher versions of their

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

and cheesemakers obtaining kosher certification for some products.

The Conchos dam

The Serra da Estrela is also home to a hydroelectric system of dams, part of which is the

Covão dos Conchos Covão dos Conchos is an artificial lake in the Serra da Estrela mountains in Portugal that is famous for its Bell-mouth spillway. The spillway was built in 1955 with the aim of diverting water from Ribeira das Naves to Lagoa Comprida. It is a p ...

. The Covão dos Conchos looks like a natural sinkhole within the lake at first glance, but it was constructed as a spillway in 1955 and acts as a water diversion from Ribeira das Naves to Lagoa Comprida.

History, legends and myths

A legend associated with the mountain is mentioned in chapter 41 of the American literary classic, Moby-Dick: :''"... the prodigies related in old times of the inland Strello mountain in Portugal (near whose top there was said to be a lake in which the wrecks of ships floated up to the surface)..."'' Archaeological investigations have allowed a picture of life during the fifth millennium BC, the Early Neolithic to emerge, where small communities sustained themselves by small game hunting, the gathering of acorn and other winter fruits, and migratory pastoralism. The raising of sheep and goats, introduced to the region by the first Neolithic settlers - suggests that spring and summer were spent on high ground pastures and winter on the lower grounds of the river valleys. The significance of the Serra da Estrela in Neolithic culture can be seen in the discovery that megaliths in the Mondego River basin were predominantly built with an alignment that allowed the mountain range to be seen from within the inner chamber. At the same time the rise of

Aldebaran Aldebaran (Arabic: “The Follower”, "الدبران") is the brightest star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has the Bayer designation α Tauri, which is Latinized to Alpha Tauri and abbreviated Alpha Tau or α Tau. Aldebar ...

, the brightest star of

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * ''Bos taurus ...

, behind the mountains could also be seen and its

Heliacal rising The heliacal rising ( ) or star rise of a star occurs annually, or the similar phenomenon of a planet, when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn just before sunrise (thus becoming "the morning star") after a complete orbit of ...

in late April/early May could have been used as a temporal marker for the movement to the high pastures of Serra da Estrela. This archaeological narrative closely mirrors the local folklore that explains the name of the mountain range.

References

External links

Serra da Estrela´s Dog
Article by Cátia Pinheiro in Accessible Travel Magazine, January 2007
The ultimate stargazing road trip on BBC
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