the schist village right at the roadside
Most schist villages in the Serra da Lousã ask something of you: you leave the car somewhere and walk up, or walk down, or drive five more kilometres on a narrow track. Candal is the exception. It sits right against the national road linking Lousã to Castanheira de Pera, you stop at the door, and the village opens up in an amphitheatre facing south right after the verge. No surprise it's one of the most visited in the serra.
The south-facing layout isn't an aesthetic choice. In a serra where winter is long and damp rises from the valleys, this orientation makes the difference between a liveable house and a cold one. The schist settled in between chestnut trees, on steep terraces that climb up to the viewpoint. The Ribeira do Candal crosses the village on one side and forms, right in the middle of the houses, a natural pool. Not a metaphor: it's literally a basin in the stream that turned into a bathing spot, fed by springs coming through the schist. In August it's still cold.
Follow the stream up for about half an hour of walking through the forest and you reach the Cascata do Candal. Follow the Ribeira de São João down and you find the Praia Fluvial Nossa Senhora da Piedade. Candal is also the start or end point for the Trilho da Levada, which runs through the forest following the old channels that carried water to the mills. Wild boar and deer appear at dusk regularly, especially if you walk slowly.
good to know
- park by the road and the village starts right there
- the natural pool is in the middle of the houses, fed by the Ribeira do Candal
- the Cascata do Candal is about half an hour on foot through the forest; the way back is uphill
- deer and wild boar appear at dusk, especially if you walk slowly
