Serra da Estrela

Declared in 1976, it protects the largest massif in mainland Portugal, with the country's only ski resort at its summit, the Torre (1,993 m). The region is celebrated for Serra da Estrela cheese, made from raw ewe's milk by craft techniques documented for centuries, and for the Estrela mountain dog, a native breed traditionally used to guard flocks against Iberian wolves, whose population here is one of the most important in Portugal.