AROUCA

The history of Arouca is directly connected to the history of its famous Monastery. The town is situated close to the Serra da Freita, a part of the Freita mountain range, and the Geopark of Arouca, making it a popular base for hiking, nature tourism and extreme-sports activities alike. Within the town, you can find plenty of leisure activities in the guise of cafés, restaurants and bars, a cinema, a few interesting old churches and the museum of sacred art. The old town is quite small and is centred around the Praça Brandão de Vasconcelos. It is where you'll find some traditional eateries, the 17th-century mannerist Chapel of Santa Casa da Misericórdia and the town pillory perch on three steps and topped by an armillary sphere.

Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Arouca

The Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Arouca huge façade dominates the centre of Arouca town and is one of the country’s largest granite buildings. It was founded most likely between the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th centuries. During the first two centuries of its existence, it welcomed both sexes through its doors. It became an exclusively female convent sometime before 1154.

Initially, the monastery was a private foundation and remained in private hands until the middle of the thirteenth century. Princess D. Mafalda (1195-1256) the daughter of King D. Sancho I and D. Dulce de Aragão and granddaughter of King D. Afonso Henriques found herself in a precarious position after her childhood marriage to the youthful heir to the throne of Castile was annulled in 1216. She became the monastery's most infamous resident and devoted the remainder of her life and wealth to the Monastery. All of the large income bestowed upon her by her father was devoted to pious and charitable uses in Arouca and beyond, Mafalda restored the cathedral at Porto, founded a hostel for pilgrims, erected a bridge over the Talmeda river and built an institution for the support of twelve widows at Arouca.

She was finally buried there after a long and full life. In 1616 nuns found her body incorrupt in its tomb and at the end of the 18th century, she was beatified by the pope. Today in Arouca, during the first weekend of May, she is celebrated during the festival of Sta. Mafalda.

The most notable spaces in the whole ensemble are the Church, the Choir of the Nuns, the Cloisters, the Refectory and the Kitchen. Inside the monastery is the Museum of Sacred Art, one of the best in the Iberian Peninsula.

Tuesday - Sunday: 09h30 - 12h00/14h00 - 17h00, Monday: CLOSED
Monastery & Museum of Sacred Art: Adult: €3.00, Concessionary: €1.50, Child under 14: FREE
Church: FREE
Largo Santa Mafalda 4540-108, Arouca, Portugal. | 40° 55' 42.4" N | 08° 14' 49.4" W
+351 256 943 321 | museu.arte.sacra@mail.telepac.pt |  Website

Portugal's second Geopark and EGN/GGN member (April 2009 Arouca Geopark covers an area of 330km2 (205 sq miles). It was created with the sole purpose of preserving the unique geology, trilobites fossils, traditional villages and to promote geotourism and geoeducation in the area. One geological oddity the park is famed for is the mysterious birthing stones (Pedras Parideiras) where nodules of hard granite embedded in softer rock emerge from erosion processes. The Geopark is also homes to the worlds largest fossilised trilobites.

The park is rugged heathland surrounded by the Freita, Montemuro and Arada Mountains. The several rivers which cross this land offer excellent conditions for various activities, such as canyoning, canoeing, kayaking and mountaineering (25 routes in three areas of the Freita Mountain). In the River Paiva rapids, you will find some of the best locations in Portugal for rafting and kayak-rafting.

Along with nature and geology, human settlements are also preserved here such as the villages of Castanheira and Cabaços (Freita Mountain) and Janarde and Meitriz. These villages seem lost in time and are bursting with rustic charm, houses made from local stone, narrow streets on which can be found the occasional cow strolling along. Steeped in history and tradition located amongst impressive landscapes.

Paiva Walkways (Passadiços do Paiva)

The park also boasts a steep and zigzagging eight-kilometre long wooden walking path. The Paiva Walkways (Passadiços do Paiva) is located on the left bank of the Paiva River. Access is gained in Espiunca ( 40° 59' 34.7" N | 08° 12' 41.19" W) or in Areinho ( 40° 57' 09.7" N | 08° 10' 33.1" W). The walkways traverse heathland across passing dramatic landscapes, eucalyptus forests, old bridges and waterfalls along its route. The terrain climbs upwards from Espiunca to Areinho but can be walked in either direction. To walk the walkways you should be of reasonably good health and be prepared with sensible walking shoes and clothing, and a bottle of water. The best way to experience this unique activity is with a guided tour group.

516 Arouca Suspension Bridge

The recent completion of the 516 Arouca bridge, the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge, has global attention to Arouca. The Arouca 516 Footbridge spans 516m-long (1,692 ft) across the valley and hangs 175m (576 ft) above the Paiva River. The walking deck is made of a see-through open grid metal mesh. It takes a scary ten minutes to walk from one end to the other.