Breathtaking Walkways and Trails in Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro — Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, we explored the Côa walkways, the cliff trail of Miranda do Douro, the ghosts of the Tua railway line in Mirandela, and the confluence of the rivers in Foz-Tua. Many people asked for more—and there is plenty of it.

Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro is a territory that reveals itself slowly. With each journey, a different river. A village you didn't know existed. A landscape that couldn't fit into any photograph you'd ever seen.

This is Part 2. Keep walking.

1. PR3 — Tinhela Walkways Trail

📍 Murça | 📏 6.5 km (circular) | ⏱ ~2h10 | ⚠️ Difficulty: Easy | 💶 Free entry

Inaugurated on May 27, 2022 — the first wooden walkways in the municipality — the Tinhela Walkway Trail was approved by the Portuguese Camping and Mountaineering Federation and is part of the Vale do Tua Regional Natural Park [1,2].

The starting and ending point is the Murça Entrance Gate of the PNRVT, right in the center of the town. From here, the route descends towards the Tinhela River — a tributary of the Tua River that runs through the municipalities of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Murça in crystal-clear waters, with riparian forests that conservation efforts have successfully protected. This is precisely why it is considered one of the best-preserved rivers in Europe [1].

The wooden walkways were strategically placed on the descent and on the right bank of the river, creating observation points with panoramic views over the valley. Along the bank, the riparian gallery forest — the damp woods that grow next to the water — offers priceless shade and coolness in the summer. With luck, you might spot an otter gliding on the water [3].

The route is not just nature. The urban section passes by the Murça Cooperative Winery, the famous Porca de Murça (the Iron Age granite sculpture that is the symbol of the town), the Old Convent of the Benedictine Nuns, the church and the Manueline Pillory — a visit to the historic center included in the tour, without detour [2].

At the Roman Bridge over the Tinhela River, you have a choice: continue along the main route, or follow the variant along the Calçada de Murça — a section of a two-thousand-year-old Roman road that connected Astorga, in Spain, to the mouth of the Douro River. Walking along it is, literally, walking on history.

Practical information: Parking near the Entrance Gate is free. The route has an elevation gain of +168m / -168m, with altitudes between 381m and 510m. Recommended for all ages, including families with children [1,2].

Azeite a Norte Note: Murça is a land of wine and olive oil. The Murça Cooperative Winery produces some of the most awarded wines and olive oils in the Douro, and the olive groves that descend to the Tinhela valley are part of the Trás-os-Montes Olive Oil territory. When you finish the trail, it's worth stopping to taste — and take some home.

2.Ribeira da Fraga Walkways

📍 Ribeira da Fraga, Carrazedo de Montenegro, Valpaços | 💶 Free entry

There are places that most travel guides don't know about. Ribeira da Fraga is one of them.

This small village in the parish of Carrazedo de Montenegro and Curros, a five-minute drive from Carrazedo de Montenegro, has gained a riverside leisure space with unique characteristics: its fragas — geological and rocky formations of rarity and imposing size that led the Valpaços Municipal Council to invest in their requalification and enhancement [4].

The project created wooden walkways that provide orderly and safe access to the rocky area—previously difficult to access—a pedestrian bridge that crosses the stream, a viewpoint overlooking the landscape, and a picnic area by the water. The result is a space of rare beauty, little visited and completely free, offering perspectives on the surrounding landscape impossible to obtain otherwise [4,5].

How to get there: From Valpaços, head towards Carrazedo de Montenegro (about 15 km on the N213). Ribeira da Fraga is less than 5 minutes by car from the center of Carrazedo, following the signs for the village of Ribeira da Fraga [4].

Azeite a Norte Note: The municipality of Valpaços is located within the production area of olive oil. Among the crags and the stream, the olive groves that define the landscape of this territory are part of the agricultural identity of this land which, like so many others in the northeast of Trás-os-Montes, has managed to preserve what is most genuine about it.

3. PR3 — Caretos Trail

📍 Podence → Praia da Ribeira, Albufeira do Azibo | 📏 4.5 km (linear) | ⏱ ~1h30 ⚠️Difficulty: Easy | 💶 Free entry

This is the trail that connects two worlds in a single path.

It starts in Podence — the birthplace of the Caretos, the carnival tradition inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The starting point is next to the information panel near the Casa do Careto, where you can learn about the colorful fringed costumes, the pointed-nosed masks, and the rattles before starting to walk [6].

From Podence, the trail descends through agricultural fields and woods towards the Protected Landscape of the Azibo Reservoir — an area integrated into the Terras de Cavaleiros Geopark, a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2015 [7]. The reservoir was created in the 1970s for water supply, but it has been colonized by an extraordinary biodiversity: more than 200 species of vertebrates, including otters, and the Mergulhão-de-crista, the symbol of the protected area.

The trail ends at the Ribeira do Azibo River Beach — one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal's Beaches. Blue Flag. Accessible to people with reduced mobility. One of the most awarded in the country. The contrast between the ancestral village of Podence and this mirror of blue water, surrounded by cork oaks and oaks, couldn't be more typical of Trás-os-Montes: tradition and nature, inseparable [6,7].

Practical suggestion: The trail is linear — it ends 4.5 km from the starting point. For those who don't want to walk back, leave a car near the beach and drive to Podence to begin. Alternatively, there is a circular version of the route that allows you to return to the starting point without repeating sections [6].

Note: The route is part of the network of 24 approved Short Route trails in the municipality of Macedo de Cavaleiros [6].

Azeite a Norte Note: The olive grove that punctuates the agricultural mosaic through which this trail passes is part of the Trás-os-Montes DOP olive oil territory — the same landscape, the same olive oil, the same northeast region.

4. PR10 — Tuela Hot Springs Hiking Trail

📍 Dine Village, Vinhais | 📏 8.2 km (circular) | ⏱ ~3h | ⚠️ Difficulty: Medium | 💶 Free entry

Dine is said to be discreet, old, and forgotten. It's only reached when the road ends.

Its inhabitants are mostly elderly people with respectable gray hair, guardians of a Transmontane identity that the modern world has yet to discover.

That's precisely why this trail, in the heart of the Montesinho Natural Park, deserves your time.

The PR10 Termas de Tuela trail starts from the village of Dine — with its restored lime kilns and the Lorga de Dine, a cave of natural origin with traces of human occupation from the Iron Age — and follows an 8-kilometer circular route at altitudes between 650m and 820m [8].

The most memorable point is the meeting with the Tuela River — one of the main rivers in the Montesinho Park, which originates in Spain and runs for more than 100 kilometers before joining the Rabaçal River, giving rise to the Tua River. On the left bank of the Tuela, the trail passes by the Tuela Hot Springs: a small structure with bathtubs, tanks and sulphurous water springs, once frequented by those seeking treatment for skin and respiratory diseases, today a monument to silence and abandonment [8].

The walk crosses holm oak forests – the symbolic tree of the Terra Fria region of Trás-os-Montes – damp meadows, granite crags, and agricultural plots still cultivated by the few remaining inhabitants. From the highest point, the horizons open up over the valleys of the Natural Park and, in October and November, it is not uncommon to hear the bellowing of deer echoing through the mountains [8].

Practical information: Access via the EN308-3 from Bragança or the EN103 from Vinhais. The route is signposted, with an interpretive leaflet available at the Vinhais Tourist Office. It is recommended to avoid the route on stormy or foggy days. Minimum altitude: 650m / maximum: 820m [8].

Azeite a Norte Note: The Terra Fria region of Vinhais is a land of smoked meats and chestnuts – but also of olive groves that, in the heart of the mountains, resist the cold and produce a unique olive. The Trás-os-Montes DOP olive oil that comes from the high-altitude area of ​​Vinhais has a unique character. When you finish this trail in Dine, look for the local shops — there are stories kept in every bottle.

What to Bring

Every journey has its own pace — but there are some things that should never be left at home:

• Footwear with non-slip soles — sections near rivers can be slippery

• Sufficient water — even on the less difficult routes, dehydration can be a surprise

• Reusable bottle — the rivers in this region have clean water, but drinking directly from them is not advisable

• Layered clothing — in Dine and Montesinho Park, the temperature can drop unexpectedly

• GPS or offline app — mobile phone signal is unreliable

References

[1] cm-murca.pt — Trilho dos Passadiços do Tinhela (informação oficial do Município de Murça)

[2] trilhosecaminhadas.com — PR3 MUR Trilho dos Passadiços do Tinhela: ficha técnica completa

[3] viagens.sapo.pt — Pelas curvas de Murça: a lenda da porca e os passadiços do Tinhela (junho 2024)

[4] avozdetrasosmontes.pt — Ribeira da Fraga terá novo espaço de lazer (informação da CM Valpaços)

[5] chavesandaround.wordpress.com — Os Passadiços da Ribeira da Fraga (setembro 2022) [6] trilhosecaminhadas.pt — PR3 Trilho dos Caretos MCD: ficha técnica e informação oficial [7] azibo.cm-macedodecavaleiros.pt — Trilhos da Albufeira do Azibo (informação oficial da Paisagem Protegida)

[8] bercodomundo.com — PR10 Termas de Tuela (trilho no Parque Natural de Montesinho)