Schist Villages

Here you will discover a new world dating back to prehistoric times, restored and offering natural and heritage sites of interest, places where you feel like walking, taking photographs, breathing the pure mountain air, diving into the river beaches and sleeping for a while in retreat.

Here you can do all that and much more.

There are 27 schist villages to discover, twelve of them in the Serra da Lousã area, five in the Serra do Açor, six along the Zêzere River and four along the Tagus-Ocreza. All of them are in the territory of Central Portugal, between the coast and the interior of the country.

When the identity of these lands and people seemed forgotten, houses, stories, smiles were recovered and, with great taste, an enchanting territory that has, already won awards as a tourist destination was created. A treasure between Castelo Branco and Coimbra.

Villages where the stone used is that of their mountains, whose flavours delight all palates, whose religious motifs and stories were remembered with enthusiasm to bring them back to life.

We invite you to feel the experiences of each one of them through their people and stories.

Start your trip next to the water source in the village of Água Formosa, 10 km from the Geodesic Centre of Portugal in Vila de Rei, the true centre of the country; or start further north, in Aldeia das Dez, admiring the landscape from each viewpoint in the village while enjoying a medronho liqueur.

To visit Serra do Açor is to visit one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the central Portuguese mountain range, located between Serra da Lousã and Serra da Estrela. The group of schist villages in Serra do Açor is mostly made up of villages where the dominant building material is shale. Some use granite in doorways and windows, and present real natural treasures.

Located further north, we have Aldeia das Dez, also known as the village of sources, and is one of the schist villages since 2010, in a mainly mountainous territory. In the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital, it was built predominantly in granite and its heritage is impressive. Located between Côja and the Protected Landscape of Serra do Açor, we find Benfeita known for its bell tower of peace. Benfeita is the only village in the world that extols peace with a tower, a bell and a clock that was placed in the Tower they called da Paz in April 1945. At the base one can read “This bell rang for the first time to announce the end of the war in Europe in 1945”. Halfway between the villages of Côja and Piódão, it has two streams, used in summer for refreshing dips. Stroll among the houses and find out why they call it the “White Village”. We have now arrived in Fajão. Fajão is a charming shale village with around 50 inhabitants, whose main advantage is the few gatherings throughout the year. Most of the houses that we see along the streets and alleys have been renovated and plastered; cobbled streets, many with blackboards, make this village one of the most picturesque places in the interior. The brown and ocher tone of the schist highlights the flowers placed in vases on the street or hanging from balconies along the sloping streets that can be seen along the mountainside.

Sobral de São Miguel, considered “the heart of shale”, is the next village. Being one of the largest clusters of shale buildings in our country, most of its buildings are painted white, providing us with magnificent discovery walks through the corners of this village. Vila Cova de Alva, is the schist village that has the largest monumental complex, perhaps because a convent was established there. Walk through the streets and alleys and enjoy its Manueline windows and various monuments that lead to the Fluvial Beach where, after a walk, you can cool off in the Alva River.

These and many others up to the 27, it's worth visiting.