Rewilding areas of the Greater Côa Valley

In the morning, we'll visit the rewilding area of Paul de Toirões. This place is located on the Beira plateau, close to the Spanish border, and is a key area for landscape connectivity in the Greater Côa Valley, a corridor and refuge for wildlife. Paul de Toirões was a former mining operation that ceased its activity more than a decade ago. Fed by the Tourões stream, it forms one of the largest areas of water in the entire Côa Valley, with a wide variety of environments such as ponds, channels, permanent and temporary lagoons. These are interconnected by seasonally flooded wetlands full of aquatic and riparian vegetation that grows over the former tungsten and aggregate extraction areas. Around all this water, there is an abundance of willow woods, some areas of reed beds, as well as a young but extensive forest, mainly made up of pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) and holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia).

At lunchtime we'll have our picnic and then head to the rewilding area of Vale Carapito. Crossed by the Cesarão River, a small tributary of the Côa River, this valley contains natural values that are characteristic of the area. The riverside gallery of ash trees crosses meadows where some cattle and roe deer still graze. The slopes are covered in pyrenean oak forests. Numerous species of birds can be seen along the route. Dragonflies and Mediterranean terrapins take refuge in the water corridor and various species of butterflies hover over the flowery meadows. Complementing the rich natural heritage is the history and built heritage of Vilar Maior, with the 13th century castle standing out at its highest point.

On this day, we will visit Ermo das Águias rewilding area, which is located roughly halfway along the course of the River Côa, on a steep slope on the left bank, where the landscape of the river valley is marked by crags and rugged cliffs. The opposite slope, however, has a significant area of cork oak (Quercus suber). Despite a history of intense land use, the process of renaturalisation of the pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) forests and their association with holm oaks and cork oaks is already evident. The meadows are gradually recovering their floristic diversity, which is attracting a greater number of insects, rabbits and partridges. This rewilding area is located 2 kilometres from the village of Vale de Madeira (Pinhel). From the village, we take a rural path that descends to the Gaiteiros stream, where the entrance to Ermo das Águias is located. In this area, there are several alternative walking routes to explore this natural area during the morning. At lunchtime, we'll head to the banks of the Côa River where we'll enjoy our tasty picnic. Then we return to Vilar Maior and end the programme.