The ecotourism activities program of the Diputación, ‘Vive o Rio Minho’, will conclude this weekend with a set of proposals to be carried out in the municipalities of A Guarda and Caminha. Once again, the initiative –aimed at attracting visitors to showcase the cross-border territory of the Minho River– proved to be a great success, as the places were sold out within just minutes.
On this occasion, the activity will last for two days and will take place at the mouth of the Minho River, combining hiking routes, birdwatching, guided tours, and a dramatized visit to the Santa Trega hillfort.
On the first day –Saturday– participants will climb up to Santa Trega to enjoy a dramatized visit to the hillfort and then have lunch at the top while admiring the views of the Minho estuary. In the afternoon, the group will travel by ferry to Caminha, where they will take a guided tour and end the day with an astronomy observation activity at O Puntal, at the river’s mouth.
The ecotourism routes of the ‘Vive o Rio Minho’ program of the Diputación once again hung up the ‘sold out’ sign in just minutes.
The following day, with a calmer pace than the previous one, participants will take part in a birdwatching activity in the morning (with a short route of about 6 kilometers of low difficulty), followed by a walk and visit to the fish farms and the historic center of A Guarda, also about 6 kilometers long and of low difficulty.
It should be noted that ‘Vive o Rio Minho’ is a program developed within the project ‘Visit Rio Minho’, funded by the European program Interreg V-A POCTEP 2014-2020, which seeks to offer an alternative to mass tourism by promoting a peaceful, safe way of exploring the Minho cross-border territory –following COVID-19 health protocols– while connecting with nature, culture, and the rich heritage the area has to offer.
Last Sunday, the proposal consisted of kayaking on the Minho and hiking. A walking route was carried out between the mouth of the Tamuxe River and the port of Goián, followed by the return journey in kayaks along the river. On Saturday 26, the central activity was cycle tourism along the Minho ecotrail between Valença and Vila Nova de Cerveira, along with a short tour including guided visits to the historic towns of Tui and Valença.
All participants in the ‘Vive o Rio Minho’ program, in addition to enjoying the ecotourism routes free of charge, received a promotional package to help publicize the ‘Rio Minho’ brand. Overall, satisfaction was very high both from the organization and from attendees, which leaves open the possibility of organizing a new edition even without European funding.
