The Centro de Portugal is hardly known by holidaymakers. The region has a lot to offer: the Douro River, vineyards and world heritage. And hardly anywhere else in Portugal are there so many hiking trails.
Anyone who gets on a horse with Ana Varela has made it. The white Lusitano stallion starts moving very slowly and carries you into the long-awaited freedom. The gorse bushes glow golden yellow in the morning sun. Poppy poppies and wild lavender sprinkle bright red and violet into the soft green along the way. The mountains in the distance are no longer a place of longing, but a newly discovered, remote adventure land that suddenly lies at your feet.