Welcome to Viva Montanhas

So who are we? We are a new company with the aim of creating affordable but unforgettable adventure holidays in one of Portugal's most beautiful regions, the Serra da Estrela. We also aim to help you discover more about this amazing place and its people.

The Serra da Estrela region of Portugal, which literally translated means ‘Mountain of Stars’ is the highest and most majestic mountain range in Portugal, rising to a height of 2000m, forming a spectacular and beautiful barrier across the centre of the country.

The region is also one of the least polluted parts of Western Europe, where you can breathe clean air, drink fresh mountain spring water and gaze at an infinity of stars. If you are a stargazer, this is the place to come where the Milky Way is clearly visible – wonderful.

Apart from the landscape, which can only be described as ever changing and full of surprises, from rugged mountain peaks to river valleys and terraces of olive, fig, pear and apple trees, you will find it refreshingly free of tourists. You will have the mountains to yourself, well apart from the sheep, goats and wildlife.

Aside from the gorgeous scenery and adventure possibilities, the Serra is also a great place to find peace and solitude and enjoy nature. The area has abundant wildlife including eagles, buzzards, hawks, vultures, kites, peregrine falcons, and much more besides.

In addition to providing great holidays we wish to be an environmentally conscious holiday company and to help us achieve this we have placed several links below:-
www.climatecare.com and www.reactivated.co.uk or www.carbonneutral.com

About Portugal

If you are unfamiliar with Portugal and the Portuguese you will be more than pleasantly surprised. The country is extremely beautiful and varied. It has a Mediterranean come Atlantic climate, making it very green and forested with mile after mile of pristine beaches and coastline; ideal for water-sports. In addition, Portugal is still a cheap place to come on holiday. You can eat out for under 10 euros and pick up a good bottle of wine for 1to 2 euros. For further information go to www.visitportugal.com

The Language of Portugal

Portuguese is ranked sixth among the world's languages in number of native speakers (over 200 million), and first in South America (186 million, over 51% of the population). It is also a major lingua franca in Africa. It spread worldwide in the 15th and 16th century as Portugal set up a vast colonial and commercial empire (1415–1999), spanning from Brazil in the Americas to Macau in China. In that colonial period, many Portuguese creoles appeared around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Large Portuguese-speaking immigrant communities exist in many cities around the world, including Montreal and Toronto in Canada; Paris in France; Asunción in Paraguay; and Boston, New Bedford, Cape Cod, Fall River, Honolulu, Houston, Newark, New York City, Orlando, Miami, Providence, Sacramento in the United States; Buenos Aires in Argentina, Uruguay, and in Japan. Other countries where speakers can be found include in Andorra, Belgium, Bermuda, Switzerland and some communities in India such as Goa. Portuguese is spoken by about 188 million people in South America, 17 million in Africa, 12 million in Europe, 2 million in North America and 610,000 in Asia.

If you are unfamiliar with the Portuguese language and would like to start learning the basics then we recommend visiting a couple of websites: www.bbc.co.uk/languages or www.101language.com and clicking on free Portuguese courses.