2nd Walk for Health – Verride (Montemor-o-Velho), Hiking, Trekking, Walking Trails, Tracks, Pedestrian Routes, Portugal

Philharmonic Association of Verride organized the “Walk for Health” with its first edition in 2016. Being present in this first edition, I couldn`t miss the second one, a longer hiking route, starting at the Philharmonic’s headquarters in Verride and arriving at Outeiro da Moura (photograph above), where after about 15 km on a circular route, lunch will be served to all participants.

Far away, the hill that embraces the place of Outeiro da Moura rises among rice paddies.

The first steps of the “2nd Walk for Health” in Verride were taken after 8:30 am. We passed by S. Sebastião Chapel with a contagious joy on the 70 people who participated in this activity. We arrive at Santa Ana Chapel, a few tens of meters from Caixeira village, and we follow to the right up the well-defined track. We pass by the shade of some eucalyptus and cedars next to “Quinta da Giroa” where green is a constant.

We find the road that connects Caixeira to Vila Nova da Barca. Here predominate the agricultural fields of familiar cultures like corn, vineyards and some olive groves.
When we reach Vila Nova village, we continue down the valley on a rural trail that transports us through these small subsistence crops, intermingled with fallow land, some of them already invaded by weeds and native vegetation.
Near Carvalhal da Azóia we pause to a brief refreshment before reaching the maximum altitude of the course (about 95m).

From this point it’s possible to observe a green mantle, mainly composed of pines, eucalyptus and heather, sprinkled by the roofs of the surrounding villages. Some shelters of artisan construction indicate that we are in boar hunting area. At certain times of the year this hunt attracts to this region hunters from several points of the country.
We are reaching the end of this walk and far away, the hill that embraces the place of Outeiro da Moura rises among rice paddies. We ended up tired under a intense heat but a delicious “stone soup” was waiting for us to restored all the energies lost in the 4 hours hike.
A final note to say that in this hike we use our baby stroller. There are only a few sections of the trail with more protruding stone slabs that require more attention and care. Then we used a baby carrier and it provides a few moments of siesta.

Points of Interest: Philharmonic Association of Verride, S. Sebastião Chapel, Santa Ana Chapel, Rice Paddies and Outeiro da Moura. .

HIKING INFO