Access by N339.

GPS: 40.321853,  -7.612959

By order of King João VI (1816-1826) was built a stone tower (torre in Portuguese) to complete the 2000 m, that’s why this area is now known as Torre. Previously, it was called Malhão da Serra. 

The Torre, a 1st-order geodesic vertex, records 1993 m of altitude, being the highest point of mainland Portugal. It is found on a plateau erected by tertiary and quaternary tectonics.

On this flat, fairly humid surface favorable to the snowfall, 18,000 years ago, an ice cap stretched from the Tower north to the Curral do Martins and Vale do Conde areas on a lower tectonic plateau. The ice cap, which had a maximum thickness of 90 meters , fed the various valley glaciers that developed around it.

There is an explanatory panel on the site.

On clean days, you can see other high points, from the mountains of Boa Viagem (Buarcos), to the mountains of Gredos (Spain) and Marão (Trás-os-Montes) to the São Mamede mountain (Portalegre, Alentejo). In the 50's, the Portuguese Air Force were built there the installations, deactivated in 1970. Currently, there is a sales center, restaurant and chapel in the area.

This is a zone that is not very rich in birds, even because it has many visitors, but it is a good place to watch the Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), the Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis), the Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris) and the Eurasian Linnet (Carduelis cannabina), not forgetting the Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus). In winter it is the season of the Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris), and, more rarely, the Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis).

Torre plateau is classified as Biogenetic Reserve by the Council of Europe.

Pay attention to the plants, always small due to the wind and snow.