The 800-year-old village of Ermelo is famous for its schist cottages capped with fairy-tale slate roofs that seem to have been constructed from broken blackboards. Once the main village of the region, it boasts traditional espigueiros (stone granaries), an ancient chapel, a sturdy granite pelourinho (pillory), a workshop that still practises the ancient local art of linen-making, and Ponte de Várzea – a Roman bridge rebuilt in medieval times.
The Ermelo turn-off is about 16km south of Mondim de Basto on the N304. The heart of town is about 1km uphill.
