Arda Valley and West Zone

The Arda rises in the heart of the Arouca Geopark, where several streams meet near the town. The water lines open up the valley, while the Freita and Gamarão mountains close it off to some extent. The River Arda and its tributaries are contributing to the erosion of these mountains, carrying sediment that ends up at the bottom of the valley. At the same time, the “Bad Stone” helped to retain them, making the agricultural soils more fertile.

Here, we find evidence of different ages of human occupation in the Arda Valley and the West Zone, such as the Burgo Pillory, the Santo António Memorial, the Malafaia Roman Villa, the Valinhas Castro, the Urrô Church, the Aliviada Dolmen, the Roman Epigraph of the Fermêdo Church, the Fermêdo Culture House and the Cabeçais Pillory.