NATURE

IN ITS PUREST

STATE.

A river in its natural state.
A unique biodiversity. Paiva Natura Park is located in the municipality of Moimenta da Beira, district of Viseu.

The territory’s biodiversity is unique and manifests itself in the multiple ecosystems inhabited by fauna and flora in the Paiva riverine zone. Likewise, special emphasis is placed on the heritage elements visible in the landscape, whether monumental in character or based on the daily experiences of the people of this territory, namely the megalithic monuments, the castros, the diverse religious and civil architecture, and all the associated sociocultural components.

TWO

ROUTES

PR1 Hiking Trail

± 7h / 25.6 km / medium

Road Route

± 3h / 25.6 km

MOIMENTA DA BEIRA

PAIVA NATURA

PAIVA RIVER

DE ALDEIA

EM ALDEIA

Ariz

Located on the right bank of the Paiva River, Ariz is set in a markedly granite landscape, surrounded by patches of pine forest and small agricultural fields lovingly irrigated by the Paiva River and the Cubos stream.

Carapito

Carapito, situated at the top of the mountain, is a Beira village with open horizons and breathtaking views. Its privileged location offers unique panoramas, where the fresh mountain air invites you to take a deep breath and enjoy the tranquility of nature.

Granja do Paiva

Towering over the road that connects Moimenta da Beira to Vila Nova de Paiva, at about 800 m of altitude, lies the graceful Granja do Paiva, whose name comes from its distant condition of having a farm linked to monastic institutions and “its” Paiva that fertilizes its lands.

Peravelha

Pêra, a variant of Pena, a semantic sister of Penedono, Penalva and other place names linked to large rocks; Peravelha took its name from the monumental stones in which it was born.

Peva

Peva, an ancestral land, located at 800 m of altitude, is a place where you can contemplate in simplicity and silence the contrast between the aridity of the mountains and the green of the fertile meadows irrigated by the clear waters of the Paiva. Until 1834 it belonged to the extinct municipality of Pêra e Peva, from where it moved to the current municipality of Moimenta da Beira.

Quintas da Nave

Quintas da Nave, at the top of the Serra da Nave, hold one of the most impressive sets of megalithic monuments in the municipality. Between open fields and a wide horizon, these ancient stones tell stories of a distant time, when the territory was already a place of shelter, ritual and permanence.

Segões

Segões has always been linked to the production of bread. In the old days, corn and rye were grown, which were then ground in the numerous water mills that still populate the waters of the Paiva and Corgo de Segões. In this small land, often isolated by heavy snowfalls, a true spirit of mutual help developed. The community oven is an example of the common use of equipment, but what stands out the most is the presence of a magnificent set of community granaries, the largest concentration in Beira Alta, with its threshing floors of pure Beira granite.

Senhor do Aflitos

Senhor dos Aflitos is a place where memory and devotion walk side by side. The small chapel, discreet and rooted in local tradition, is a stopping point for those seeking a simple but meaningful place, where popular faith and landscape meet.

Soutosa

Soutosa is intimately linked to Aquilino Ribeiro, who faithfully portrayed its natural and cultural heritage, immortalizing this town forever in Portuguese literature. In the property where the illustrious writer lived and wrote, now belonging to the Aquilino Ribeiro Foundation, is the Casa-Museu, classified as a Property of Public Interest.

“The river comes rattling from the mountains, tearing itself from stone to stone, from leap to leap, reduced with the drought to little more than a tile of water.
Arriving there, it is as if it found its bed to rest, to fall asleep, without a wrinkle, fresh, deep, flown over by myriads of dragonflies and by the blackbirds and doves that nest there, inhabited by a varied, agile and tasty river fauna, the trout, the barbel and the bogas…”

AQUILINO RIBEIRO, IN ALDEIA. TERRA, GENTE E BICHOS.