Alcongosta Guard’s House

Serra da Gardunha is a southern buttress of Serra da Estrela, the most imposing relief in Portuguese territory of the Central Iberian Cordillera. It develops in a northeastern - southwestern direction, in an extension of 20 kilometers by about 10 kilometers in width, reaching a maximum altitude of 1227 meters, in Penha.

The geographical situation of Serra da Gardunha, at the limit of the Cordillera Central with the plains of Beira Baixa, the geological and orographic diversity and the fact that it is a transition zone between a climate of Atlantic influence and a Mediterranean and dry climate, allows the existence of a significant variety of natural habitats and a diverse fauna and flora.

In the surrounding area of ​​the Alcongosta Guard house, located on the northern slope of the mountain, the greatest influence of the Atlantic climate is reflected in a natural vegetation cover where chestnut and mixed oak and black oak dominate.