Ravenous vultures, wild horses and elusive wolves… The joy of nature tourism in the Greater Côa ValleyThe feeling of awe that being in the company of wild or semi-wild horses elicits is hard to beat – and hard to come upon, too. Many of Europe’s wild horses are now extinct, though there are still semi-wild ponies on Exmoor and, in southern Bulgaria, the karakachan, an ancient breed related to the Mongol horse, roam the Rhodope hills near the town of Velingrad. In the breathtaking Greater Côa valley in northern Portugal, you can spend hours in the company of Sorraia, a breed of wild horses that feeds on dried undergrowth and scrub. Re-introduced by Rewilding Portugal, a nature conservation project founded in 2019, the Sorraia help prevent wildfires and increase bio-diversity, making the terrain more hospitable to roe deer, Iberian ibex, rabbit and red-legged partridge, which in turn benefits the Iberian wolf and Iberian lynx, eagles and vultures.My son and I were among a small group of lucky eco-tourists who watched the Sorraia horses as they grazed while enjoying a prepared picnic of pasta, fresh salad and fruits in the Vale Carapito nature reserve. Leaning against a tree and observing these small, semi-wild horses, their coats the colour of dried grass, was a meditative, magical experience. It is one of several memorable nature tourism excursions available in the 120,000-hectare corridor that stretches from the Douro in the north, down to the Malcata mountains and nature reserve in central Portugal, close to the Spanish border. Continue reading...
