Mosteiro Stream

Where is located the Mosteiro Stream

The area is part of the Douro Internacional Natural Park, which runs along the border between Portugal and Spain, through the valleys of the Douro and Águeda rivers. With 130km long and within an area of 85.150ha, the river valleys shapes a deep canyon with steep slopes, mainly cliffs. The region is included in an even larger area created by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere program, known as the Meseta Ibérica Biosphere Reserve.

A Medieval Causeway

At the Mosteiro Stream valley there’s an old paved and sinuous path with about 1km in lenght, the Alpajares Causeway. It is a small section of what once was a much longer medieval road. This causeway straddle along a steep slope of the stream valley, a tributary of the Douro River, at the Douro Internacional Natural Park. It is part of a circular hiking, of medium lenght but it is extraordinarily rich in natural, scenic and historic heritage.

Primordial human presence

In this ancient landscape of rugged ground, with a deep valley furrowed by the Mosteiro Stream, there are traces of a more primordial human presence. The “Castro” of São Paulo, from the Iron Age períod, summits the hill of the same name, where vestiges of the Roman presence have also been found. At this highest point of the route there are still an old dovecote and some medieval graves excavated in the rock. 

Unique botanic values

Mosteiro Stream valley is characterized by an interesting set of plants, some of them endemic from this region of the Iberian Península. Plants like the Anarrhinum duriminium, the Linaria saxatilis or the Erysimum linifolium. Some mediterranean plants are also common in the valley. The Prickly Juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus) or the Nettle Tree (Celtis australis).

A Rewilding Area

Thousands of years of human activity have led to changes in the ecosystem, but today much of the valley is undergoing renaturalisation, with ancient olive and almond groves being replaced by holm oaks, prickly junipers, turpentine trees and other plants that make up the region’s original botanical cast. The imposing cliffs that define the landscape serve as a refuge for several endangered bird species. At the bottom of the valley, the Mosteiro Stream keeps a level of humidity that allows for a rich variety of flora. In this rewilding area, managed by Rewilding Portugal, the aim is to ensure and facilitate the process of renaturalising the landscape, reconciling existing agricultural practices with biodiversity and reducing the risk of large fires – one of the main threats to the heritage of Mosteiro Stream valley.