Did you arrive via an
Event?

Or through social media?

After you visit the blog, discover the olive groves, olive presses, and routes that make this one of the most awarded places in Northern Portugal!

View Experiences

View Producers

Search

6.1 million for the Montesinho Natural Park: the North invests in tourists who want to see the Iberian wolf — and sample olive oil along the way

Azeite a Norte Blog
12 hours ago
2 min read

There are territories that just beg to be discovered. The Montesinho Natural Park is one of them — and now the investment that was missing has arrived for the world to realize this.

The biggest investment ever in the Montesinho Natural Park

The Montesinho Natural Park will receive €6.1 million distributed across 13 approved and ongoing projects aimed at nature conservation, environmental enhancement, and the development of sustainable tourism in the protected area that extends across the municipalities of Bragança and Vinhais. (Source: Jornal de Notícias; Diário de Trás-os-Montes)

In the words of the Mayor of Bragança, Isabel Ferreira, this is the "largest investment ever dedicated to the Montesinho Natural Park"— made possible by the new European funding line specifically aimed at supporting biodiversity and protected areas. Of the total, €5.3 million is co-financed by European funds — 10 applications via Norte 2030 and 3 via the Environmental Fund. (Source: Diário de Trás-os-Montes)

The stated objective is ambitious and clear: "to convert this protected area into a European model of sustainability, science, and social cohesion." (Source: Diário de Trás-os-Montes)

What will change — and what will be better for the visitor

Nature, trails and wildlife

Among the approved projects, noteworthy interventions include those that directly transform the visitor experience:

Enhancement of the Baceiro River's riverbank area — one of the park's most preserved waterways, with dense riparian vegetation and exceptional fish fauna.
Revitalization of the Trout Farm in França — which will be transformed into an interpretive center, combining history and environmental education in one of the territory's most iconic locations (Source: Diário de Trás-os-Montes).
Improvement of pedestrian routes and their signage — making the park more accessible and safer for hikers of all levels.
Actions in the Vinhais Biological Park — one of the rare opportunities to observe native Transmontane fauna in a naturalized context.
Conservation of wildlife, focusing on the Iberian wolf and other species that make Montesinho one of the most unique nature observation destinations in the Iberian Peninsula (Source: Diário de Trás-os-Montes).

A better visit, from start to finish

The mayor of Bragança was direct about what this investment means for visitors: "It will allow for signage in the park, it will allow for the improvement of pedestrian routes, it will allow for work on the conservation of wildlife (...) and above all it will also [allow] for networking between the various entities operating in the territory." (Source: Diário de Trás-os-Montes)

This is exactly the type of action that makes Trás-os-Montes a nature and gastronomy tourism destination that is hard to match in Portugal — and this investment is another step towards more visitors discovering it.

👉 Explore our olive oil tourism itineraries and experiences in Northern Portugal and start planning your next visit to Trás-os-Montes.