We hadn't driven far from Fundão when the mountains called.

Serra da Estrela was close enough to visit as a day trip from our campsite, so we went — and came back changed. Not dramatically, not in any life-altering way, but in that quiet way that wild, beautiful places do to you when you weren't quite expecting them.

Serra da Estrela — Portugal's Rooftop

The Serra da Estrela is the highest mountain range in mainland Portugal, reaching 1,993 metres at its peak. At the very top stands a tower called Torre, built in the 19th century specifically to round the height up to a symbolic 2,000 metres — which is exactly the kind of charming, stubborn thing the Portuguese would do and we love them for it.

It's the largest protected natural area in Portugal. Glacial valleys, 25 lakes, ancient shepherd traditions, dramatic rocky landscapes — and in winter, the only ski resort on the Portuguese mainland. We went in the height of summer and it was still cold at the top.

The drive up through Covilhã is something I want to describe properly because it deserves it. Narrow winding roads, lush forest on both sides, wild flowers in yellows and purples spilling onto the verges — we kept slowing down just to look. The kids, who at this stage of the trip still found everything exciting and hadn't yet mastered the art of teenage indifference to beautiful landscapes, turned their faces from their screens every once in a while and looked out the windows enjoying the views.

We stopped along the way at a lakeside — the water so clear and turquoise it looked unreal — and again at a viewpoint where we could see all the way back to Covilhã far below and beyond it, south to the plains. Standing there and tracing the road we'd just driven felt like something.

The Summit, the Cairns, and the Hot Chocolate

At the top, the temperature dropped sharply despite the blazing summer day below. And spread across the summit, as far as we could see in every direction, were hundreds — maybe thousands — of Rujum, cairns, stone towers built by visitors over years and years. Each one balanced carefully, stone on stone on stone.

We built a few of our own. It's one of those simple things that sounds silly until you're actually doing it, focused and quiet, finding the right stone, testing the balance, and then stepping back when it holds. The kids were completely absorbed in it.

Then we went into the café at the peak and ordered hot chocolates and sat by the window overlooking the whole world below us.

We all agreed that we needed to come back in winter. To see this place in snow. We made ourselves a promise.

(We kept it. But that's a story for another chapter.)

Two Things Serra da Estrela Is Famous For (That You Need to Know)

The Cheese. Queijo Serra da Estrela is legendary — a raw sheep's milk cheese, made with thistle (yes, the plant) as a natural coagulant, soft and almost runny in the middle when ripe. Strong, complex, deeply flavoured. You will find it on almost every table in the region and you should order it and give it a try.

The Dog. The Cão da Serra da Estrela is one of the oldest and largest breeds in the Iberian Peninsula, traditionally bred to guard sheep from wolves in these exact mountains. We met several during our travels through the region. They are enormous, sweet, slightly clumsy creatures who have absolutely no idea how big they are and will try to sit on your lap. If you're a dog lover like us, consider yourself warned — you will want to take one home.

The One Place We Haven't Been Yet — But Will

There is a spot on the mountain we missed on this trip and have been thinking about ever since: Covão dos Conchos, known as the Eye of the Mountain.

It's an artificial lake with a perfectly circular bell-mouth spillway built in 1955, designed to divert water between reservoirs as part of the mountain's hydroelectric system. On paper, engineering infrastructure. In reality, one of the most otherworldly things you can stand in front of in Portugal — a perfect round hole in the middle of a mountain lake, water slipping silently into it, the edges softened over decades by moss and plants until it looks nothing short of magical.

To reach it you'll hike roughly 10km round trip, starting from Lagoa Comprida at 1,500 metres. Wear proper shoes. Bring water. Go early. We'll be back for it — and we'll bring you along when we go.

Where to Stay in Serra da Estrela

Since we had the caravan, finding accommodation wasn't something we needed to worry about on this trip. But I already knew, standing at that summit with hot chocolate in hand, that I would come back here without the caravan one day and stay properly — slowly, in one of the little mountain villages, with nowhere to be.

These are the places already on my list, all bookable through which is genuinely where we found our best rural stays throughout our entire Portugal year:

Manteigas is consistently recommended as the best base for hikers — tucked into the central valley with direct access to the dramatic Zêzere glacial trails. Loriga is a charmer of a mountain village with a fabulous river beach for swimming and good restaurants within walking distance. And if you want something truly special, the farm stay at Madre de Água Hotel Rural in Gouveia sits on a working estate producing wine, cheese and olive oil — guests get to taste the lot after days in the mountains. For something more remote and atmospheric, the ancient stone villages of Linhares and Folgosinho offer a slow, scenic entry into the highlands that feels completely unhurried.

Where to Eat

Do not leave Serra da Estrela without sitting down to a proper mountain meal. Varanda da Estrela in Penhas da Saúde is the kind of small, rustic, fireside place where you order the shepherd's stew and watch clouds roll across the peaks through the window — exactly the setting that makes food taste better than it has any right to. In Loriga, both O Solar and O Vicente are well loved by travellers for honest, generous Portuguese cooking. And in Covilhã, at the foot of the park, Taberna A Laranjinha has the kind of reputation that makes you add it to the list immediately — warm staff, food deeply rooted in regional tradition, the sort of meal you talk about afterwards.

Whatever you order, make sure the Serra da Estrela cheese appears somewhere on the table. Non-negotiable.

A Mountain We'll Keep Coming Back To

Serra da Estrela got under our skin in the way that only truly wild places do — quietly, without making a fuss, and then suddenly you're back home and you keep thinking about it.

We drove back down to our campsite that evening with the windows open, the air cooling fast as we lost altitude, five people quiet in the way you only get when everyone has had a genuinely good day together.

The mountains were behind us. The road north was still ahead.

Chapter 4 is where things get real — and I mean that in the best and most complicated way. Because traveling as a family for a full year sounds like a dream, and it was. But it was also work — literally. Hagi kept his business running from a caravan table. The kids continue their schooling on the road. Me holding everything together while also figuring out who I was becoming in this new, lighter version of our life. Next chapter: what normal actually looks like when your address changes every few days.