A journey through the wild Douro

The river beach Congida, 1 km far from Freixo de Espada à Cinta, is a great place for recreation and water sports. From the port depart the boats making organised trips through this portion of the Douro river.

The trips depart from Congida where the Douro River looks like a wide lake of quiet waters. On the banks, olive groves, orange orchards and almond trees give way to cliffs and tight slopes. Here, in the wild nature, you will see cedars, cork oaks, terebinths and oaks. In our journey, we can still observe the impressive forest of lote trees on the hillside of the Douro. The vulture and the eagle fly up high. The trip takes place in silence, hearing only the sounds of nature, as the engine of the vessel is virtually noiseless, so that visitors might better enjoy the scenery. It is a journey that, for its most part, develops upstream Freixo de Espada à Cinta, since few miles south lies the Spanish dam of Saucelle. The Natural Park of International Douro was created to protect, on both sides of the border, this unique landscape, made of sheer cliffs over the river, where nest rare species such as vultures, black storks and eagles. Ironically, in has once been foreseen to build on the left and Spanish bank, a deposit of radioactive materials in the early 80s. Four kilometers to the north of beach Congida are the cliffs below the village of Mazouco, where a famous Paleolithic engraving was discovered, and came to be known by the name of Cavalinho (little horse) de Mazouco.