Just southeast of the Parque Nacional
da Peneda-Gerês is the wild and remote Serra do Barroso. The
landscape of heathery hillsides is split by the immense Barragem do Alto
Rabagão, the largest of many reservoirs in the area created by the damming of
rivers for hydro-electric power. Water is a mainstay of the local economy: a
high rainfall enables farmers to eke out an existence on the poor soil, and the
artificial lakes attract fishing and watersports enthusiasts. The source of one
of the country’s most popular bottled mineral waters is at Carvalhelhos .

The village of Boticas  nearby produces a beverage with a more
original claim to fame. In 1809, the locals buried their wine rather than have
it fall into the hands of the invading French. When the enemy departed, the wine
was retrieved and found to have improved. The bottles were colloquially termed
mortos  (“dead”), hence the name of the wine – vinho dos mortos . The practice continues and bottles are usually
buried for up to two years.

The area’s principal town is Montalegre , on a plateau to the
north. Its most notable feature is the imposing keep, 27 m (88 ft) high, of the
ruined 14th-century castle.

Oxen are bred in the Serra, and inter-village chegas dos bois 
(ox fights) are a popular pastime. The contest is usually decided within half an
hour, when the weaker ox takes to its heels.