Ancient sites in Peneda-Gerês National Park

Ancient Sites and Ruins

This collection features archaeological sites across the Peneda-Gerês National Park, ranging from Neolithic megaliths and Iron Age hillforts to medieval monastic ruins. Highlights include the communal granite granaries of Soajo, the legendary Misarela bridge, and the Cistercian ruins of Santa Maria das Júnias. These sites illustrate thousands of years of human settlement, religious history, and agricultural traditions in the rugged northern Portuguese landscape.

Nuno Lopes / CC-BY-SA

Ponte da Misarela

Medieval stone bridge spanning the Rabagão River. Known for its single arch and local legends, it connects the districts of Braga and Vila Real.

Dafema / CC BY-SA 3.0

Espigueiros e Eira Comunitária do Soajo

A communal threshing floor featuring 24 granite granaries built on stilts. These 18th and 19th-century structures were used to store corn and protect it from rodents.

Mamoa do Mezio 6

A Neolithic burial mound within the Mezio Megalithic Complex, consisting of a stone chamber covered by an earthen mound.

Povoado da Calcedónia

Ruins of an Iron Age fortified settlement located on a high rocky plateau. The site features remnants of defensive walls and circular stone dwellings.

Anta do Mezio

A well-preserved megalithic dolmen or funerary chamber dating back to the Neolithic period, part of the broader archaeological circuit in the Mezio region.

Monumentos Megalíticos e de Arte Rupestre do Planalto de Castro Laboreiro

A vast archaeological area on the Castro Laboreiro plateau containing dozens of Neolithic burial mounds and prehistoric rock carvings.

Sepultura do Frade

An anthropomorphic grave carved directly into a granite boulder, likely dating from the early medieval period.

JotaCartas / CC BY-SA 4.0

Aqueduto de Pontes

A traditional stone aqueduct in the village of Pontes, designed to transport water for agricultural irrigation across the rugged terrain of Castro Laboreiro.

José Antonio Gil Martínez / CC BY 2.0

Mosteiro de S. Maria das Júnias

12th-century Cistercian monastery ruins situated in a remote valley. The site preserves Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements, including the church and parts of the cloister.