Experience the best of Covilhã

Covilhã rises in steep terraces up the eastern flank of the Serra da Estrela, a granite range in central Portugal. It grew rich on wool, and the old mills along the stream below the town now house a university and a wool museum. Street art covers many of the old walls, and the sloping lanes open onto viewpoints over the plain.

The Serra da Estrela Natural Park begins above the town, with a high plateau that reaches 1,993 metres at the Torre, the highest point of mainland Portugal. Near Manteigas, a glacial valley shows what ice once carved here. Belmonte, birthplace of the navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral and home to a long-hidden Jewish community, lies to the north-east, and the walled village of Monsanto stands farther south-east.

Serra da Estrela cheese, a soft sheep's-milk cheese ripened in rounds, is the region's best-known product, often eaten with a spoon straight from its rind. Honey, chestnuts and cured sausages come down from the mountain villages to go with it. Snow settles on the high plateau in winter and allows skiing on the upper slopes, while spring brings wildflowers to the paths.