Quinta Ecológica da Peneda

Quinta Ecológica da Peneda is a small family farm in Outeiro, in the parish of Oliveira, Arcos de Valdevez, on the fringes of Peneda-Gerês National Park between the Lima and Vez rivers. Elisabete Alves and Pedro Almeida left Porto with their two daughters, bought an abandoned farm and have been restoring it since 2017. Guests stay in six rooms, two in the main house and four in an annexe, each with its own entrance, and sit at the family's kitchen table at mealtimes.

About eight hectares are certified organic and managed on agroecology and permaculture principles. The farm grows chestnuts, fruit, vegetables, aromatic herbs and shiitake mushrooms on logs, and keeps chickens, ducks and rabbits. Hot water comes from solar panels, backed up in winter by an efficient wood boiler and a heat pump, and a pond that stores rainwater feeds drip irrigation through a solar-powered pump. The ruined buildings were rebuilt with passive-solar design and sustainable materials, and the farm treats its own domestic wastewater.

Stays include breakfast, and dinner can be booked: mostly vegetarian dishes cooked with the farm's own produce and adapted to special diets. The hosts and local partners organise walks in the national park, guided and self-guided bike rides, kayak and stand-up paddle trips, cooking classes and guided visits to the farm, and there is a saltwater pool for hot afternoons. The farm lies a few kilometres from the towns of Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca, and a self-guided walking and cycling route links it to Arcos de Valdevez.