Tastings, harvest, walking trails through the groves, mill visits, even olive-oil massages: here's everything an olive oil tourism experience in Trás-os-Montes, Portugal can include.

A technical report published in Agroportal reveals that olive oil production costs in Portugal range from €2.5 to over €12 per litre. The traditional dryland groves of Trás-os-Montes are the most expensive to run — and the least supported. Here's what that means for producers, buyers and visitors.

August settles over Trás-os-Montes with the authority of its heat. The air trembles over the olive groves, the cicadas never stop chirping, and the dry, cracked earth holds its thirst for the deep roots of the centuries-old olive trees. After July shaped the fruit with its heat, the month arrives in which, without fanfare, a large part of the harvest to come is decided.

There is a region in the far north of Portugal where olive oil has a different history, a different rhythm, and a different scale. And that is precisely what makes it different.

If there is one dish that sums up the gastronomic identity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, in Northern Portugal, it is this. The "posta" — from Mirandesa veal, from local beef, or simply from the region's cattle — is not just a dish. It is a ritual.

Discover the Upper Douro in 3 days: Torre de Moncorvo, Vila Nova de Foz Côa and Freixo de Espada à Cinta. Centuries-old olive groves, UNESCO rock art, Transmontane cuisine and olive oil from the producer.

The history of olive oil in Trás-os-Montes isn't just found in books. In some villages, it's inscribed in the stones of an olive press, in the iron of a press, in the memory of those who still remember seeing oxen turning the mill. Lavandeira, in the municipality of Carrazeda de Anciães, is one of those villages.

The short answer: there is no bad time. Each season offers something different. The long answer — that one is worth reading.

Imagine this: a long table nestled among olive trees, the sun setting over a dry, golden landscape, the scent of warm earth and wild herbs. A drizzle of olive oil falls onto freshly cut bread. Someone laughs. No one is in a hurry. If you've never experienced a late July afternoon in an olive grove in Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, there's a part of the Portuguese summer yet to be discovered.

Olive oil is one of the most emblematic elements of the Mediterranean Diet, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.