Alto Douro

I visited the Douro valley on the 18th and 19th of oct.2024.
On the 18th I took the train from Porto-Campanha to Pinhao at 7:25, where I arrived a little late at around 10:00. At 10.30 I had a 2 hour trip with the rebelo boat of the magnifico douro company upriver to Tua and back to Pinhao. Nice,but nothing special. Afterwards I strolled across the Pinhao bridge and entered the Quinta das Carvalhas, where I took part in a wine tasting of white wines; not a single one of the white wines appealed to me.
I had been to Porto/Vila Nova de Gaia several times and had already taken part in 3 wine tastings at various Porto houses, so this time I preferred white wine. Disappointing! I had another Porto wine, but it didn't really convince me either. Afterwards I wandered around Pinhao for about an hour. At 4:40 p.m. I took the train to Pocinho, where I arrived around 5:30 p.m. The train route between Porto and Regua is quite boring, the one between Regua and Pinhao is much more interesting, but the one between Pinhao and Pocinho was certainly the highlight of my entire Douro valley visit.
I had planned to walk or hitchhike from Pocinho station to Vila Nova de Foz; there were no taxis at the train station.
However, I was lucky, after about 300 meters walking towards Vila Nova de Foz a taxi came towards me, so I stopped it and it took me to the youth hostel in Vila Nova de Foz for 8€ .The following day I was going to see the prehistoric rock art sites in the Côa valley.

On the 19th I took the train from Pocinho to Regua...this time I opened the window and stood looking at the spectacular landscape between Pocinho and Pinhao. Before that, however, I had seen the dam in Pocinho and the nearby closed and disused drawbridge with a lower level for cars and pedestrians , on which a Portuguese family with 2 children was running around despite the fenced off entrance.. I happily joined them when I found the hole in the fence :).

As for Regua......it isnt a pretty place....I wandered around the small city and had a porto wine in one of the wine bars there waiting for the next train to Porto.

All in all I can say that I enjoyed my visit to the Douro valley, but I missed a little the magical moments that the wine region-for example- in Wachau, Austria, gave me.

Alto Duoro, from my experience on visiting countless European UNESCO listed vineyards, is probably the best of its kind. The inspiring views of endless beautiful steeply sloping vineyards on endless mountains along the Duoro River valley really show its superlative of its long history of manmade landscape for viticulture. From Porto, we drove to Sao Leonardo de Galafura for its famous viewpoint. Duoro Valley welcomed us with heavy rain and thunderstorm, we thought that Bacchus already cursed us since we could not find any outstanding wine for the past couples of days in Porto and Coimbra. Luckily that when we reached the viewpoint, the rain stopped, and we could admire the breathtaking view of the Douro valley, a perfect start for wine hunting day.

From Sao Leonardo de Galafura we took a hilly road to Peso de Regua, along the way was magnificent view of the sea of mountain vineyards, small villages and modern highway, the whole landscape was impressive of how natural environment has been transformed by 2000 years of wine industry. Quinta da Pacheca is the first Quinta of the day, while the view from this Quinta was just fine, the wine was superb, and we felt that our curse on wine was lifted by Bacchus. Then we continued along the riverside road to Pinhao. The Duoro became more majestic behind river dam, Barragem da Regua, tempting us to stop at few more Quintas, Branco, Popa and Tedo. The best one along this road, in term of view, probably is Quinta do Tedo, located on river peninsular where small Tedo River meet the Duoro. We lost some luck at the famous Quinta do Bomfim, which was closed for private event. At Pinhao we leisurely walked along the river admiring beautiful surrounding before ending our day with great dinner and the best wine of the day at Quinta de la Rosa, our hotel where we learned wine making process on the next day.  

As mentioned above, in my opinion, Alto Duoro is probably the best historic vineyard landscape in Europe. While vineyards along the river valley may not be special or unique as we can see similar things from Wachau or Moselle, the gigantic size of the whole lovely cultural landscape together with steeply sloping vineyards really provide the sense of wonder as great technological landscape as ICOMOS summarized in report to UNESCO. Steep slope vineyards along the Moselle Valley maybe the only one that can be compared with Alto Duoro, but again the size of Moselle was too small to bring it up. Another point that makes Alto Duoro more special is the quality and price of Portuguese wines, with high quality and affordable price make a visit really contrast to Burgandy or Medoc which made it easier to appreciate the whole experience of the whole Duoro Region.   

October 2020 - our original plan was to discover the alto Douro by train. We arrived at pocinho station but that day no train would go. No trainride, no rockart tours, the region is modest in its beauty, so we decided to continue by camper. The road to pinhao is extremely windy, we had to make some stops especially for our daughter to t***w up. Close to arriving at the Douro, the slopes were stuffed with wineyards. And in between sign of famous Portwine producers. We were a few weeks to late, most grapes had been harvested. But the scenery along the Douro was beautiful. We made a short boattrip eastwards and got to see the unspoiled part of the wine valley. 
Regarding Pinhao, we expected a cozy little village in between vinyards. That was not really the case, but the Quinta da Foz at the river offers nice atmosphere and wine. Next day we drove westwards along the river. Way too populated, lack of historic sights, rather a downer. To experience Portwine, Villa Nova de Gaia might be the more interesting Spot. 

Alto Douro is the part of the river valley where natural conditions conspired to create a unique environment for wine production that dates back over 2,000 years. Fortified wine – the port – may be the signature product, but various kinds of table wine have been becoming more prominent since about the middle of the last century. My affinity for wine notwithstanding, I have never before managed a visit to a WHS that would actually revolve around wine. So, the trip to Alto Douro was the first of a kind for me: primarily a wine-tasting trip that was also a qualified WH visit.

The stretch of the river between the towns of Peso da Régua and Pinhão is the heart of the region, possessing both the most dramatic landscapes and the highest concentration of wineries (called quintas in Portuguese). We planned our time around driving along that stretch (less than 30 kilometers in length), with several targeted stops for exploring and taking in the scenery.

Régua is worth stopping in for the Museum of Douro, a very thorough – without being overwhelming – overview of both the history and the modern process of winemaking in the region. On an intraday visit to the area, you may want to limit your time here to an hour or so, which will allow for a fairly cursory look at the majority of the exhibits. An entrance ticket entitles you to a glass of port in the museum shop at the end of your visit.

Between Régua and Pinhão, we visited 4 quintas; along the way, just a few minutes out of Régua, river locks may provide a bit of diversion if a cruise ship happens by at that time. 

At Quinta do Tedo, in addition to a tasting flight of 3 table wines, we had a lunch on the terrace with a pretty incredible view. (Reservations recommended for lunch).

At Quinta do Panascal, we took advantage of the self-guided audio tour around the vineyard. The narration of the guide explained and illustrated quite a few specifics of growing grapes on the steep slopes of the valley mountains and of producing different types of wine. A tasting flight of 3 wines is included in the price of the tour.

At Quinta do Seixo, sitting high above the river, we sipped our wine while gazing at the sweeping views of the valley. There are literally dozens of a la carte and set flight choices for tasting on the menu.

Finally, at Quinta das Carvalhas, we enjoyed another superb tasting flight in an old-world-accented lounge. The price of a flight is slightly higher here, but inclusive of a tawny port in addition to the usual 3 table wines.

Peso da Régua is reachable in a little over an hour and a half by car from Porto. Four or five wineries will probably be a one-day limit for practically everyone, so for those who want to try more, an overnight stay in Pinhão might be an option. Most wineries offer walk-in tastings; if you want to take a guided tour, you may need to reserve in advance and plan to arrive at a specific time (Quinta do Panascal mentioned above is the exception).

Another wine valley...but wine valleys are beautiful! I will not get into the "unique" or whatnot aspect because it has already been touched by other reviews. I personally enjoyed driving through the section of Peso de Régua to Pinhão and back, stopping for pictures along the way and buying a bottle of wine from one of the many vineyards. I am no wine expert to know which is a good year or which of the vineyards are supposed to be one of the better ones and having to drive I obviously did not do a wine tasting. All I will say is that the wine was well received as a gift.

Vineyards are not the most popular type of WHS among the community of this website. One reason is certainly that they belong to an over-represented category. Our vineyards connection comprises a total of 32 WHS, almost half of which are devoted exclusively or predominantly to viniculture. On the other hand, viniculture is one of the oldest and most traditional agricultural technique. And vineyards are often picturesque landscapes, especially if they are along a winding river. And these qualities are given in the Douro Valley.
Alto Douro is the oldest demarcated wine region in the world with a protected designation of origin. The core zone of the WHS covers an area of about 24,000 hectares, a stretch of 80 kilometres along the Douro river from Peso da Régua to the Spanish border with branches to include also the mouths of the tributaries Corgo and Rio Pinhão.

Coming from Guimarães on the N101/N108 I first saw the Douro River in the small village of Rede. This is also the western end of the core zone. A few kilometres further on is Peso da Régua, one of the main towns on the Douro. It is not a particularly pretty town and is not within the core zone, but the Museo Douro is worth a visit. The exhibition is well done and you will learn everything you need to know about this WHS: the history of the area, the nature and geology and the peculiarities of viniculture here, the rock art of the Coa Valley is also explained. Finally, you can taste a port wine on the terrace overlooking the Douro, the tasting is included in the entrance fee.
The section between Peso de Régua and Pinhão (26 km) is popular with tourists. The road runs directly along the river and there are many spots where you can stop to enjoy the nice landscape and to take photos. The steep vineyards seem well maintained, the horizontal lines of the dry stone walls dominate the scenery, interrupted only by olive groves or cypress trees. In contrast to similar cultural landscapes such as the Middle Rhine Valley or the Wachau, there are hardly any larger villages along the Douro, no castles or large churches, just here and there the mansions of the wine producers (in Portuguese: Quinta)

I arrived in Pinhão just in time for my boat trip, which I had booked online a few days earlier. In Pinhão, several companies offer boat tours. I booked a two-hour Rabelo tour with Magnífico Douro upriver to the mouth of the Tua. There is no main road along the river in this section, just the streets connecting the Quintas. It was very relaxing to enjoy the river and the vineyards from the boat, an audioguide gave some explanations and on the way back I had my second Port tasting that day - but not my last one.
Back in Pinhão I went to the Quinta do Bomfim, owned by the Symington family, one of the leading producers of premium (vintage) port wine, for my third and most comprehensive tasting. I can recommend the Quinta do Bomfim, not only because of the beautiful location. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the variety of port wine. It is also possible to visit the cellars, but the tour was fully booked that day (my visit was in May 2018). But I didn’t mind, I already had visited a port wine cellar at Vila Nova de Gaia, where I learned about the distinctive features of port wine and its production.

Port is a fortified wine, which means that high-percentage alcohol is added to kill off the yeast after one or two days of fermantation. As a result, a part of the sugar is kept, the wine is sweeter and has a higher alcohol content. Due to the extreme climate, cold in winter and very hot in summer with temperatures up to 45°C, the wine is stored only one winter in the cellars of the Quintas. In the spring, the barrels are transported to Oporto; formely on the Douro, today by truck.

I stayed overnight in Pinhão. The next morning, I continued my journey towards the Coã Valley. From Pinhão, the N222 runs uphill and leaves the core zone of the WHS. At the first one or two kilometres are some spots with a beautiful view of Pinhão and the surrounding vineyards (photo). A few kilometers further on, at São João de Pesquiera, I made a detour via the N222-3 to the Vale de Figueira, where the road again touches the core zone. The road is very winding, it took me almost an hour for 25 kilometres, but also because I often stopped to admire the landscape. Here the valley is narrower and the slopes are steeper. The eastern part of the Alto Douro is calm and secluded, at least it seemed so early in the morning.

All in all, I really enjoyed my visit to the Alto Douro, it's one of the best wine regions on the WH list I have visited so far. And although I still prefer non-fortified and dry wines, I think that from time to time I will go for a Port, now that I know how a good Port has to taste.

It’s not always easy to convice my wife we need to go to yet another world heritage site but I had no problems when I announced Alto Douro to her. We both love the Porto wines they produce overthere and even she thougt a day of tasting and drinking is not something you skip while being in the area.

The prettiest part of the site lies between the small towns of Pinhao and Peso da Regua, an area full of quinta’s ( the name the Potugese gave their winehouses) and known tot he locals as Cima Corgo. The town of Pinhao itself is not that special but it has some nice views over the river and surrounding hills full of vines. I your there don’t forget to visit Quinta de Bomfim and it’s exquisit selection of fine wine’s. Among others they produce widely known Ports like Dow’s and Graham’s.

We spent a while on their nice terrace overlooking the whs and had a great sunny afternoon. It even got my girl to tell me that we had finally visited a truely great Unesco monument. And that says a lot. Cheers!

In 2002 I had planned to visit the nearby Coa Valley and had already arranged a tour when they informed me that a visit had become impossible because of flooding. So I limited my tour to the North-East of Portugal to the Douro Valley. There's a nauseating road that follows the Douro River. The towns there looked really rundown. And because it was winter there was not much to see of the wine too.

On my second attempt at the Coa Valley (this time successful), I once again passed the Douro Valley. The areas of these 2 WHS are nearly contiguous. This time I did not take the winding road along the Douro, but the main highway. Numerous signs point to the Douro vineyard landscape.

The landscape is very pretty at times. But it's a pity that you can only speed by. There are hardly any parking spots or lookouts along the way.

I visited this WHS in August 2014. The first glimpse and enriching experience was by car after having visited the Coa Valley. There were street signs indicating the area inscribed as a WHS and several winding roads that lead to the terraced vineyards. Plenty of grapes on the vines when I visited. Then I enjoyed the captivating views of the Alto Douro valley from the Douro itself on board a boat tour I booked from Oporto. This is definitely a more relaxing experience but I must say that visiting by car on the whole was my favourite experience of the two. To wrap up I decided to visit Graham's cellars at Vila Nova de Gaia to taste the Alto Douro produce and learn about the history of Port-making. Bliss!

I found the most relaxing way of visiting the Alto Douro was to take the train from Porto to Pocinho and back. The train runs up the valley with excellent views of the rocky gorges, the vinyards and wineries.

Portugal is a small country but its landscape changes a lot going from north to the south, changing from green to yellow during the summer. This is due to the large number of rivers in the northern region when compared with the southern one and also due to the amount of water that flows in these rivers. Douro river comes from Spain and since it touches Portugal, in a region that it is the frontier between Spain and Portugal (International Douro park), it passes along the most impressive scenery that I know for a river. However, its rapids disappear due to several dams. Fortunately, most of them permit that boats pass through. The deep valleys are amazing. When the park finishes, two Unesco's World Heritage sites appear. These are the Rockart sites of the Coa valley (an affluent of Douro river) and the Douro Wine Region. These two sites may be visited from (O)Porto, 2nd largest city in Portugal, taking a train or a boat (cruise). Douro Wine Region is the oldest marked wine region and it is the mother region of Port and Douro wines.