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Water Route

Rua da Lagoa n.º 476, S. Pedro d'Arcos 4990-530 Ponte de Lima 41° 45' 52,3" N | 8° 38' 34,6" W
Rua da Lagoa n.º 476, S. Pedro d'Arcos 4990-530 Ponte de Lima

The Water Trail is a footpath known as the short route. The respective markings and signs conform to international standards. The course is mainly within the Protected Area (PA) of influence of the Bertiandos and St. Pedro de Arcos ponds, allowing for a better understanding of the origin and movement of the water within that same space.

At the same time, it portrays a frame of human occupation in the area surrounding the PA. We begin the route in the Environmental Interpretation Center (EIC), following the signs to the Pentieiros Estate – integrated in the project of the PA - which includes associated housing, recreation and leisure equipment, as well as an educational farm. It can be visited for a symbolic value. In this vast expansion, there are predominantly urban areas associated to complex and partial agricultural systems. Back to the route, we head toward Estorãos, facing the mountains d'Arga and Cabração –the upper limits of the hydrographic basin of the river Estorãos. This basin, of about 5440ha, is the main water line of the Estorãos river. Its features, associated to local climate conditions, explain the forming of a valley subject to periodic flooding, where the PA is located.

Near the Church of Estorãos, we turn right towards the bridge and the watermill of Estorãos. We then leave the riverside landscape, crossing the bridge towards the fertile plain of Lousa. In this agricultural area there are allusive signs of irrigated Estorãos whose water comes from funding made upstream in the river. At the Statue of Four Hands, symbol of the union between four parishes in face of serious subsistence problems, we turn right, heading towards the former Co-op of Estorãos.

Flexing to the left and we are accompanied by an irrigation canal that carries water for irrigating the fertile valley of corktrees, and the lagoon of S. Pedro de Arcos, thus ensuring the maintenance of this biotope in the summer. After crossing anew over the river Estorãos, we turn left, on a trail that leads to the pond Mimoso, bypassing a wooden bridge where, in the winter, the river water enters the Fujacos brook leading to the formation of a temporary lake in the PA.

The pond, a biotope of capital importance for local wildlife, serves as a refuge zone for feeding and reproduction and consists of a seasonal body of water surrounded by hygrophilous woods that host species of high conservation value. The lagoons of the PA, located in natural depressions in the ground are fed by rainwater, the increase in the water table, by the brooks of Leira Longa and Portela as well as being irrigated by Estorãos.

From the Mimoso pond, following the route instructions, we head to the National Road (EN) 202, where the Bertiandos Manor is located, one of the more emblematic symbols of the north. Trekking parallel to the EN 202 whilst contemplating the Mountain of Arga, and then looking in the opposite direction, we glimpse the riparian gallery of the river Lima, southern boundary of the hydrographic basin of the river Estorãos. The River Lima receives the draining water from Estorãos as well as the Estado ditch, a watercourse built to drain the lagoon of S. Pedro de Arcos.

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Description

The Water Trail is a footpath known as the short route. The respective markings and signs conform to international standards. The course is mainly within the Protected Area (PA) of influence of the Bertiandos and St. Pedro de Arcos ponds, allowing for a better understanding of the origin and movement of the water within that same space.

At the same time, it portrays a frame of human occupation in the area surrounding the PA. We begin the route in the Environmental Interpretation Center (EIC), following the signs to the Pentieiros Estate – integrated in the project of the PA - which includes associated housing, recreation and leisure equipment, as well as an educational farm. It can be visited for a symbolic value. In this vast expansion, there are predominantly urban areas associated to complex and partial agricultural systems. Back to the route, we head toward Estorãos, facing the mountains d'Arga and Cabração –the upper limits of the hydrographic basin of the river Estorãos. This basin, of about 5440ha, is the main water line of the Estorãos river. Its features, associated to local climate conditions, explain the forming of a valley subject to periodic flooding, where the PA is located.

Near the Church of Estorãos, we turn right towards the bridge and the watermill of Estorãos. We then leave the riverside landscape, crossing the bridge towards the fertile plain of Lousa. In this agricultural area there are allusive signs of irrigated Estorãos whose water comes from funding made upstream in the river. At the Statue of Four Hands, symbol of the union between four parishes in face of serious subsistence problems, we turn right, heading towards the former Co-op of Estorãos.

Flexing to the left and we are accompanied by an irrigation canal that carries water for irrigating the fertile valley of corktrees, and the lagoon of S. Pedro de Arcos, thus ensuring the maintenance of this biotope in the summer. After crossing anew over the river Estorãos, we turn left, on a trail that leads to the pond Mimoso, bypassing a wooden bridge where, in the winter, the river water enters the Fujacos brook leading to the formation of a temporary lake in the PA.

The pond, a biotope of capital importance for local wildlife, serves as a refuge zone for feeding and reproduction and consists of a seasonal body of water surrounded by hygrophilous woods that host species of high conservation value. The lagoons of the PA, located in natural depressions in the ground are fed by rainwater, the increase in the water table, by the brooks of Leira Longa and Portela as well as being irrigated by Estorãos.

From the Mimoso pond, following the route instructions, we head to the National Road (EN) 202, where the Bertiandos Manor is located, one of the more emblematic symbols of the north. Trekking parallel to the EN 202 whilst contemplating the Mountain of Arga, and then looking in the opposite direction, we glimpse the riparian gallery of the river Lima, southern boundary of the hydrographic basin of the river Estorãos. The River Lima receives the draining water from Estorãos as well as the Estado ditch, a watercourse built to drain the lagoon of S. Pedro de Arcos.

Download the file:

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