Cascata do Arado

Vilar da Veiga / Ermida / Parque Nacional da Peneda-Geres, North Region, Portugal

About Cascata do Arado


Hiking Distance: around 400m round-trip
Suggested Time: 15 minutes

Date first visited: 2024-06-10
Date last visited: 2024-06-10

Waterfall Latitude: 41.72393
Waterfall Longitude: -8.12994

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Cascata do Arado is one of the more well-known waterfalls in Portugal, especially when you consider how easy it was to access it.

I figured that this notoriety was warranted because I first became aware of this place when consulting a Lonely Planet Portugal book during my pre-trip research (so I jokingly called it the “LP Waterfall”).

Cascata_do_Arado_030_06102024 - Cascata do Arado
Cascata do Arado

In any case, visiting this waterfall was pretty straightforward as it involved going up a roughly 150-200m path that began just past a road bridge over the Arado River.

At the end of the walk was a lookout with a direct view of the Cascata do Arado, but the lookout area was surrounded by railings and fencing to ensure this was a look-but-don’t-touch waterfall.

Indeed, it seemed like the authorities went through a lot of trouble putting in these railings such that they extended well before the miradouro.

Thus, it seemed that swimming at the waterfall was not sanctioned (despite what has been said in the past literature about bouldering up to the falls for a swim).

Cascata_do_Arado_018_06102024 - Railings were erected throughout the walk along the Rio Arado towards the Cascata do Arado, which I believe was to prevent people from scrambling down to the river for a swim
Railings were erected throughout the walk along the Rio Arado towards the Cascata do Arado, which I believe was to prevent people from scrambling down to the river for a swim

So aside from taking pictures of the waterfall from the miradouro, there wasn’t much here to extend my visit.

Thus, I only spent about 30 minutes away from the car in a very leisurely manner after parking at a pullout spot pretty close to the bridge over the Rio Arado (see directions below).

That said, the road to get to that spot was unpaved and quite full of potholes so if you’re a bit queasy about driving your vehicle on that kind of road, then you can walk the unpaved stretch.

So if you were to walk instead of driving the pothole-riddled unpaved road, that would increase the overall hiking distance to about 1.4km round-trip (700m each way) instead of the minimal 300-400m or so from where I started.

Authorities

Cascata do Arado is located in Peneda-Gerês National Park near the village of Gerês in the Braga District of the Norte Region of Portugal. It is managed by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests Municipality. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Natural.pt website.

Drive_to_Geres_101_MingSung_06112024 - On the N308-1 Road leading to Vila do Gerês as it went alongside some scenic lakes
Return_from_Geres_from_Arado_033_MingSung_06112024 - The N308-1 Road actually is cobblestoned before deviating from it and going up the Rua da Pedra Bela
Drive_to_Arado_015_MingSung_06112024 - You definitely have to watch out for oncoming traffic, particularly around bends like this where the other car can get into your side of the road
Cascata_do_Arado_002_iPhone_06102024 - Looking back at the context of the parking off to the side of the unpaved Rua da Cascata do Arado with some oncoming traffic (giving you an idea of how narrow the road is)
Drive_to_Arado_019_MingSung_06112024 - Continuing on the narrow Rua da Pedra Bela leading to the Cascata do Arado from Gerês
Drive_to_Arado_028_MingSung_06112024 - On the unpaved Rua da Cascata do Arado in the final 700m to the area by the road bridge over the Rio Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_015_iPhone_06102024 - Looking ahead at the bridge over the Rio Arado on my way to the Cascata do Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_004_iPhone_06102024 - Walking onto the bridge over the Rio Arado on the way to the Cascata do Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_005_iPhone_06102024 - Looking downstream from the road bridge over the Rio Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_012_iPhone_06102024 - Looking back at the bridge over the Rio Arado and the short trail to the Cascata do Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_007_06102024 - Going up the initial steps leading up to the Cascata do Arado from the road bridge over the Rio Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_012_06102024 - Continuing up the initial steps leading up to the Cascata do Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_014_06102024 - Starting to catch a glimpse of the Cascata to Arado in the distance on the way to its lookout
Cascata_do_Arado_015_06102024 - Looking back at the initial steps from the Rua da Cascata do Arado to the top of the initial steps
Cascata_do_Arado_041_06102024 - I noticed this little fountain on the short trail to the miradouro for the Cascata do Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_010_iPhone_06102024 - Looking back at the Rua da Cascata do Arado and the road bridge over the Rio Arado from the trail to the waterfall
Cascata_do_Arado_038_06102024 - Approaching the miradouro for the Cascata do Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_008_iPhone_06102024 - Checking out the Cascata do Arado from the miradouro
Cascata_do_Arado_033_06102024 - Portrait look in long-exposure of the Cascata do Arado from the miradouro
Cascata_do_Arado_037_06102024 - Another long-exposed look at the main drops of the Cascata do Arado
Cascata_do_Arado_042_06102024 - Going back down the initial steps as I was returning to the Rua da Cascata do Arado
Return_from_Geres_from_Arado_004_MingSung_06112024 - On my way back to Gerês from Cascata do Arado, I noticed some more spillover parking spaces alongside the unpaved Rua da Cascata do Arado
Return_from_Geres_from_Arado_008_MingSung_06112024 - Continuing on the way back to Gerês from Cascata do Arado, where the road was quite bumpy
Return_from_Geres_from_Arado_013_MingSung_06112024 - The road of Rua da Pedra Bela was paved so it was much easier to drive after the bumpy adventure on the Rua da Cascata do Arado


Cascata do Arado is in Peneda-Gerês National Park near the towns of Ermida and Gerês (or Vila do Gerês).

I’ll describe the driving directions as if I was driving from Gerês since that was where we were staying when I made my visit to this waterfall.

Drive_to_Arado_014_MingSung_06112024 - On the narrow Rua da Pedra Bela after leaving the N308-1 Road, which is just enough room for bi-directional traffic to pass each other though there are narrower sections than what's shown here
On the narrow Rua da Pedra Bela after leaving the N308-1 Road, which is just enough room for bi-directional traffic to pass each other though there are narrower sections than what’s shown here

So first, I’d head north on the N308-1 Road from the center of Gerês, which is an elongated, mountainous town bisected by the Rio Gerês with separated one-way streets going northbound and southbound in its center.

I’d continue going north along the N308-1 for about 2km to a multi-signed turnoff at a switchback to the right (one of the signs was for Cascata do Arado).

I then left the N308-1 Road and went on the narrower ascending mountain road (Rua da Pedra Bela) for almost the next 7km.

Eventually, this road junctions with the the Rua Vale do Castanheiro where there were some parking spots.

Drive_to_Arado_025_MingSung_06112024 - Approaching the road junction and parking where the Rua da Pedra Bela, Rua Vale do Castanheiro, and Rua da Cascata do Arado all meet. It's possible to hike from here to Cascata do Arado if you don't want to drive the unpaved Rua da Cascata do Arado
Approaching the road junction and parking where the Rua da Pedra Bela, Rua Vale do Castanheiro, and Rua da Cascata do Arado all meet. It’s possible to hike from here to Cascata do Arado if you don’t want to drive the unpaved Rua da Cascata do Arado

At this point, you have a choice of parking here and then walking north on the unpaved Rua da Cascata do Arado, or you can take the car on the Rua da Cascata do Arado (I did the latter).

So continuing another 700m on the Rua da Cascata do Arado, I found that the road was a bit rough and potholed, but as long as I took my time, the rental car didn’t bottom out.

Ultimately, I found some parking space near the bridge over the Rio Arado (I did show up late in the afternoon so there weren’t many cars around at the time).

Overall, this drive took me around 25-30 minutes.

Drive_to_Arado_031_MingSung_06112024 - On the rough Rua da Cascata do Arado as I approached the nearest parking spots to the short walk to the waterfall
On the rough Rua da Cascata do Arado as I approached the nearest parking spots to the short walk to the waterfall

For context, Gerês is about 43km (about an hour drive) northeast of Braga, 82km (about 90 minutes drive) east of Ponte de Lima, about 96km (over 90 minutes drive) northeast of Porto, 65km (over 90 minutes drive northwest of Mondim de Basto, about 213km (over 2.5 hours drive) north of Coimbra, and 406km (over 4.5 hours drive) north of Lisbon.

Find A Place To Stay

Long video starting with the approach to the falls with partial views of its hidden upper tiers behind trees and then doing a 360 degree sweep from the official lookout as well as a zoom-in sweep of the falls itself

Trip Planning Resources


Nearby Accommodations



Tagged with: ermida, vilar da veiga, braga, peneda-geres, north region, portugal



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Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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