You know those places that look like a movie set? What do you think doesn't exist except in cinematographic creativity? Yes, a film village exists in Portugal. I speak of the tiny Poldros Valley, a village located in Serra da Peneda, in the north of Portugal.
It really looks like a movie scene, like those villages we saw in the movies. Asterix or famous people Hobbits of the movie Lord of the Rings. Poldros Valley It is one of the examples of the ancient villages of Alto Minho, mountain villages only inhabited during the summer months, as it is so cold the rest of the year that you cannot live there. When they were not living in the locality, the inhabitants (few) went down to Riba de Mouro, the parish headquarters, a human movement that few practice today.
To protect themselves from the intense cold in the region, the houses were made, in a rudimentary way, with granite and the main characteristic of the buildings was to have low ceilings to conserve heat. The importance of preserving a place like this is because of its historical relevance, as in addition to its invaluable heritage value, the group of houses is an example of a settlement of transhumance: mountain villages where breeders took their cattle during the summer months, returning to their original villages at the end of summer. With the almost end of this activity, the Poldros Valley turned into holiday homes.
The village may have been founded in the 9th century, although there is no certainty as to when these small shepherds' shelters began to appear at the top of the mountains, where the animals were kept on the ground floor and the housing was on the upper floor. Many of these villages across the country fell into disrepair and were demolished. But in Poldros Valley, in a joint effort between residents and authorities, many of its buildings still remain, because, from a cultural and social point of view, these areas can play an important role in economic and tourist development.
Despite being far from the larger centers, it is worth a visit when traveling through Portugal, as it is a unique setting with hundreds of years of history. These are the coordinates to get to the village: GPS 42° 0'1.75″N | 8°17'47.88″W