Top 6 Lakes around Vila Verde Dos Francos

Artificial lake, with a very pleasant surrounding area. In summer, especially at weekends, the area is very popular with families and groups for picnics. Note: The description below seems to refer to another place, which I think is the Ermida Bridge

Small artificial lake, where we can sometimes see some wild birds. There is a shooting range nearby, if you hear gunshots, be careful.

Surrounded by beautiful and abundant trees, it is a bridge with a Romanesque arch. There are several theories regarding its construction; some argue that it was built during the reign of D. João II, in order to facilitate the King's movement when he went to meet Queen D. Leonor for a swim in Caldas, while others claim that it was built in the 19th century due to a technical issue, namely its width. Interestingly, this bridge supports two enormous pine trees at the top of the road.

Artificial lake, with a very pleasant surrounding area. In summer, especially at weekends, the area is very popular with families and groups for picnics.

This area, which is home to vast meadows, owes its name to the fact that in the past (80 or 90 years ago) it was a place where wild cattle were allowed to graze freely. Next to a small lake created to retain rainwater (surface water is rare in the Serra de Montejunto, as it is a mountain made up mostly of limestone), you can still see the ruins of an old stable where the animals spent the night to protect themselves from the cold. Today, this area, especially in the autumn and winter months, is used as a grazing area for goats and sheep. In the spring and summer, these fertile meadows are used by the populations of the nearby villages (Cercal and Rocha Forte) to grow crops such as potatoes and other dryland crops.

At the top of Mount Mecca, there was once, I believe it was still working in the 90s, a basalt quarry. it has been closed and has barbed wire to prevent people from entering. As I found out, there were people who went there to bathe, but there was someone who cut part of that fence, and you can get there by bike. The panorama is amazing...

This crater is located in the place usually known as Cabeço de Meca or Cabeço de Santa Quitéria, and is classified as having been a volcanic chimney. This chimney, which was operated as a quarry for the extraction of basaltic material for years, is currently unprotected, as a result of the impasse caused by the PARP, leaving visible the industrial structures that support this extraction, such as a lake in the center of its crater, also a consequence of the same exploitation.

Built in 1997, the Sobrena (Cadaval) dam never filled. It was expected to irrigate 100 hectares of agricultural land, benefiting 120 farmers, mainly Rocha pear producers. The dam is an exposed ruin, with the support buildings invaded by brambles and a wall from which a pond can be seen in the place where a reservoir should have been. All around you can see eucalyptus trees. And these trees are precisely one of the reasons for the failure of this investment of more than two million euros.