the name is black, the water is emerald green
The Poço Negro is on the Adrão river, inside the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, about 1 km from the village of Soajo on the M530 road going from Soajo to Cunhas, just before the bridge over the river. The name confuses first-timers. It's not dark water from mud or algae: the water is crystal clear, intense emerald green at the edges, and only gets a dark tone because of the depth. It's the deepest pool in the Soajo area, oval-shaped, and some say you can't see the bottom at certain points. Hence the name.
Access is easy compared to other mountain pools: a concrete stairway of about 400 metres, with wooden handrails, goes down from the road to the riverbed. On the other hand, the road signage is almost non-existent, which still catches drivers off guard without coordinates. Down below, set in a deep valley of granite polished by the river, the pool sits with its small waterfall feeding it. Some people tie a rope to a trunk for a swing over the water. The depth allows for dives and jumps with the right technique, which is why the place fills up in high summer, especially July and August weekends. Those who want the pool to themselves go before 11am or in off-peak months.
On the same Adrão river, further upstream, there are other less obvious pools: Poço do Bento, Poço das Canejas, Cascata do Soajo, Lagoa da Ladeira. They're reached by a walking trail of about 4 km (there and back) that starts by the same bridge and isn't well signposted, but for those who want to swap the crowd for complete solitude, it's the way. The water is the same, the geological system is the same: granite sculpted over centuries by the river, with pools of varying depth hidden in the valley. The Poço Negro became famous for being the most directly accessible; the others remain, largely, for those who bother to walk.
worth knowing
- road signage is poor; programme the coordinates into your phone before leaving, or mark the bridge over the Adrão river as your reference
- the descent stairway is about 400 metres with some elevation drop; it's safe but becomes slippery on wet stone
- the water is cold even at the peak of summer; the spot is at 700 metres altitude and the river comes from the mountains
- it fills up on July and August weekends; before 11am or in off-peak months it's a different story
- before jumping into the water, check the bottom; depth varies a lot throughout the year and there are submerged rocks near the edges
