Rota dos Bernardos

On a route that takes you past some of the village’s most iconic and picturesque spots, offering a balanced view of its urban, agricultural, and forested areas, hikers are invited to discover the village’s history, its key figures and most memorable events, its legends and traditions, and its landscapes and surrounding nature. They can choose, at the beginning or end of the route, to visit the Espinheiro Rural and Ethnographic Museum—a true adventure for those who love to set out along endless roads and trails.

Although agriculture still plays a major role in the lives of its people, forestry—through the harvesting and processingof pine and eucalyptus timber, along with the trade in fish and other food products, currently constitute its most significant economic activities. The parish is known, above all, for the traditions that its people have managed to preserve over the years. This is the case with one of its most interesting ethnographic treasures, the famous Jogo do Pau, which, according to tradition, was performed by men and women during the festivities of St. Brás in the meadow, and of its traditional festivities in honor of Our Lady of the Incarnation, which take place every year around Christmas.