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The
Tras-o-Montes
province of
Portugal, which means beyond the mountains,
is as it's name suggests, the most isolated region of
the country. Such is this isolation many regional
dialects, undecipherable from everyday Portuguese, are
widely spoken and recognised in the area.
The
region is a rural and split in two geographically by the
Rio Douro
(Douro River). The
lower part, commonly known as the Upper Douro, is more
fertile, accessible and amenable to travellers. The
upper part has been nicknamed 'Terra Fria' or Cold Land
and the name is deserved. The winters are considerably
longer and colder and the summers cooler. Local proverbs
joke at the difference in climate to the rest of the
country with the saying 'Nine months of winter and three
months of hell' (nove mês de inverno e tres mês de
inferno). Tras-o-Montes
however does have several attractions which are worth
noting, the city of
Bragança - the birth place of
Portugal's last Monarchy, and the Corgo train line,
which cuts through some of the region's most spectacular
mountainous valleys. |
