DireCtions in oPorto anD the Douro 267between the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior. At Ferradosa, just above the former rapids,
the railway crosses to the south bank of the river and some of the largest and most stately
of all quintas come into view. Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas and the Symington family’s
Quinta do Vesúvio both have their own railway stations. On the opposite side of the
river, Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais, Dow’s Senhora da Ribeira and Warre’s Vale Coelho
and Telhada can all be seen from the window of the train. As the train reaches Pocinho
the valley opens out and, apart from Quinta do Vale Meão, there are more olive trees to
be seen than vines. Pocinho itself is no more than a collection of down-at-heel buildings
and a few rusting steam engines. It feels more like the end of the world than the end of
the line.
For anyone with a car, there are a number of good vantage points from which to appreciate
the sheer scale and extent of the Douro region. The belvedere or miradouro at São Leonardo
da Galafura is one of the best. Approached from the main road that runs between Régua to
Vila Real (via Vila Seca), on a clear day it provides a vista of much of the Cima Corgo, with
the Baixo Corgo and the outline of the Serra do Marão in the distance. Upriver, but only
for those on foot or with a four-wheel drive, the Chapel of São Domingos at Provesende
commands a spectacular view of the deeply incised Pinhão Valley. On the border between
the Cima Corgo and the Douro Superior, the view from the five chapels of São Salvador do
Mundo (Saint Saviour of the World) is even more dramatic. It is reached from the São João
de Pesqueira–Ferradosa road and allows you to peer down from amongst the cactus plants
and crags to the river more than 400 metres below.
Away from the river, a number of the older towns and villages are of both historical
and architectural interest. On the south side of the Douro, the rural city of Lamego is
dominated by the sanctuary of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, the steps from which
cascade into the main avenue that bisects the town. Just outside Vila Real on the northern
margin of the region, the baroque Palace of Mateus, which lent its name to the world-
famous rosé, is open to visitors. Overlooking the Pinhão Valley in the Cima Corgo,
the village of Provesende (near Sabrosa) is one of the few villages to have survived the
constructional onslaught of recent years and the eighteenth-century manor houses, built
from profits generated by Pombal’s Companhia, have largely escaped alteration. There are
ruins of defensive castles north and south of the river at Lavandeira and Numão, both
of which afford fine views of the surrounding countryside (one well-known Port shipper
used to hide a bottle of tawny Port in the rocks at Lavandeira, handy for a drink whenever
he and his friends visited).