About Poco do Inferno
Poco do Inferno (or Poço do Inferno; translated as the “well of Hell”) is an impressive high-altitude waterfall high up in the Serra da Estrela Nature Park above the scenic town of Manteigas.
At about 1080m in altitude, this waterfall is pretty much up in the weather, especially in the afternoons on a warm day.
This was certainly the case when I visited this waterfall as there were frequent lightning strikes that made me real nervous being up here under such weather.
Anyways, for all intents and purposes, this is said to be a roadside waterfall, but the challenge is driving up the narrow, winding, mountain road to get there.
It’s also possible to hike up to this waterfall from the town of Manteigas, but you’re looking at around a 7.5km distance if you’re really trying to avoid the drive or looking for a long excursion.
As for the waterfall itself, it’s where the Ribeira de Leandres drops a reported 10m (though I thought it might be closer to 15-20m tall) among a schist and granite landscape.
The Ribeira de Leandres Creek feeds the Rio Zêzere, which is the river that flows through the glacial valley harboring the rural and traditional town of Manteigas.
To access the waterfall, I drove up to the falls going south of Manteigas (see directions below) before stopping the car at a fairly sizable car park before the waterfall’s narrow gorge.
Once I parked, I walked a mere 400m round-trip to a steel bridge right in front of the Poço do Inferno, which involved a brief walk along the road, and then going up steps hugging some ledges with railings to hold onto.
Beyond the steel footbridge, it’s possible to get all the way down to the plunge pool fronting the Poço do Inferno, but there’s a lot of slippery and broken boulders making it a rather unsafe scramble in wet weather.
Overall, I spent a mere 15 minutes away from the car, but it took me around 30-45 minutes to make the drive (indicating just how much physical effort is involved compared to driving effort).
There were some picnic tables below the road on the downhill side for those wishing to prolong their time while enjoying the nature here.
Authorities
The Poço do Inferno Waterfall is in the Serra da Estrela Nature Park near the town of Manteigas of the Guarda District in the Centro Region of Portugal. It is not clear who administers the waterfall, but being in a protected area, I have to believe that the local municipalities and districts are in charge of the upkeep. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Centro de Portugal tourism website.
The Poço do Inferno Waterfall resides in the Serra da Estrela Nature Park near the town of Manteigas.
So I’ll describe the driving directions from Manteigas as you can easily navigate your way to the town from whatever direction you’re coming from.
From the center of Manteigas, I drove southwards along the ER338 Road (Rua Comandante Matos Preto) for about 3.6km as it crossed a bridge over the Rio Zêzere and towards the N338 Road.
Not long after crossing the bridge over the Rio Zêzere and going past the Centro Interpretativo do Vale Glaciario do Zêzere, there was a well-signed sharp left turn onto a steeply ascending nearly single-lane road.
I pretty much followed this road for the final 5.6km to the car park for the Poço do Inferno.
About half way up along this mostly single-lane drive, there was a brief stop for a miradouro (lookout) peering right towards the town of Manteigas.
Anyways, this roughly 9-10km drive took me round 30 minutes.
For context, Manteigas is about 40km (under an hour drive) southwest of Guarda, about 133km (about 2 hours drive) south of Lamego, 120km (over 2 hours drive) east of Coimbra, 149km (over 2.5 hours drive) southeast of Alvarenga, 178km (about 3 hours drive southeast of Porto, and 315km (about 3.5 hours drive) northeast of Lisbon.
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Somewhat long video showing the falls from the road bridge as well as the steel bridge with the narrow jaunt in between
Brief sweep showing the falls and its surroundings from the steel bridge
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