The Walk

This forest walk takes place between two villages Vimeiro and Gaio on marked trails

The Vimeiro National Forest is located next to the village of Vimeiro, which began as a vast privileged property belonging to the Monastery of Alcobaça and existed as early as 1296. The forest extends over 267 hectares, having as main species the maritime pine (60% of the area), followed by eucalyptus (8% of the area) and cork oak (6% of the area). It consists of four forests: the Roda, Gaio, Ribeira and Canto forests.

This area was chosen for research work at the Experimental Station for Cork Oak and Eucalyptus, between 1930 and 1950, and today many stands remain as a result experiments,
not only with cork oak and other quercines but also in the field of fruit growing. The forest is currently managed by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).

Timing

The walk is about 11-12 km and is expected to take about 3.5 hours.

Car meeting and start point

Place	Coordinates
Parque de Merendas do Gaio, Rua do Marco Real, Gaio Car parking is next to the abandoned buildings of Casa do Guarda do Gaio, a building occupied in the past by the Forestry Services, across the road from the Parque de Merendas playground and picnic/barbeque area	39.489612, -9.037767

Map

NB.  The flag on the map above shows the car meeting and walk start point.

Coffee Stop

For those who wish to take refreshments after the walk, we will covene at Cafe Rodrigues in Gaio.

Notes

• Walk leader: Warren Yee
• warren@silvercoastwalks.com