The best walks and hikes around Duas Igrejas

Mirador do Penedo Amarelo. It is located on Rua do Penedo Amarelo, in the urban area of Miranda do Douro. It offers wide panoramic views of the Douro River surrounded by green hills, the dam, the historic center and the co-cathedral of Miranda do Douro. It is one of the most outstanding urban viewpoints in the area.

From the Vale de Águia hill fort, there is a natural viewpoint with spectacular views of one of the meanders of the Douro. At the São João das Arribas hermitage, you can also enjoy stunning panoramic views of the canyon and waterfalls on the Spanish slope. The landscape includes cliffs, meadows, oak groves, and pastures, with abundant flora and fauna.

The GR-36 trail in the Miranda do Douro area is one of the most spectacular routes in northern Portugal, especially for its views of the Douro Canyon, which forms the natural border with Spain.

The Pisón Stream Bridge in Fariza is part of one of the most iconic hiking trails in the Arribes del Duero Natural Park: the Mills Route. It is a medieval bridge, possibly with a Roman base, that crosses the Pisón Stream, a tributary that fed numerous flour mills in the area.

The Hermitage of the Virgen del Castillo in Fariza, Zamora, is a place of great historical, spiritual, and scenic value, nestled in the heart of the Arribes del Duero Natural Park. It sits atop a hill, offering spectacular views of the Duero canyon, right on the natural border between Spain and Portugal. Nearby is the Mirador de la Virgen del Castillo, considered one of the most beautiful in the Arribes.

The Mirador de las Barrancas, located in Fariza, in the province of Zamora, is one of the most spectacular spots in the Arribes del Duero Natural Park. It offers stunning views of the Duero River canyon, which marks the natural border between Spain and Portugal. A granite landscape with unique rock formations and a microclimate that favors Mediterranean crops such as olive trees, vineyards, and almond trees. Spot birds of prey, such as the griffon vulture and the golden eagle, which are very common in the area.

The first bishops of Miranda had to live in the Castle. It was only in 1601 that construction began on the Episcopal Palace and the Seminary. When it was completed, more than a century later, its opulence was no less than that of the Cathedral, whose Renaissance style it imitated. The Palace was built around a central courtyard, surrounded by a cloister with lowered arcades, on monolithic columns. And, although badly damaged by successive fires during the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the definitive transfer of the seat of the Diocese to Bragança, in 1780, that caused it to fall into rapid ruin. The shadow of its monumentality can still be seen today in the cloister and on the portico of the Seminary. However, despite its state of ruin, its symbolic power remains because the bishops always continued to engrave their names on the respective memorial, at the entrance to the Renaissance portico of the first Episcopal Palace of the Diocese.

The castle of Miranda do Douro was built during a second period of settlement and ordering in Trás-os-Montes, which occurred during the reign of King Dinis. The first kings had provided this vast region with administrative units protected by Romanesque castles, called Terras, whose mission was to establish royal authority in an area of the kingdom that was notoriously peripheral. Over time, this power structure proved to be inadequate and King Afonso III initiated a different policy, the most visible of which was the founding of new urban towns. In the territory of Miranda do Douro, the new town was founded by King Dinis in 1286, thus culminating in the transfer of power from the old castle of Algoso, which had been the capital of the land until that date.