Top 7 Things to do in Torre de Moncorvo, Portugal

Previous booking strongly advised! The Côa valley is a unique place in the world, displaying open-air artistic manifestations from different moments of prehistoric, protohistoric and historic times, namely the greatest assembly of Ice Age open-air engravings presently known. This extraordinary rock art collection is distributed along two main axes: the river Côa and the river Douro, of which the Côa is a tributary. More than a thousand schist outcrops with rock art manifestations are known, in more than 70 different sites, with a predominance of Upper Paleolithic art, followed by motifs belonging to the Iron Age, Historic times and Late Prehistory. As a recognition of the cultural and scientific interest of this group of findings, the Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa (Côa Valley Archaeological Park) was created in 1996 and the rock art sites inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1998.

Boating, jet skiing or canoeing, come and observe the wild and unique Sabor river. This place whets the appetite for a longer journey seeing it ends in the Mouth of the river, making you want to go on along that naturally beautiful stream called Douro. Be seduced by the landscape near the mouth with orange trees, olive trees and vineyard and end the journey with a snack at the typical fishing village of Foz do Sabor.

The final seventeen kilometres of the Coa valley contain hundreds of Palaeolithic engravings along the river’s banks, extending all the way to the River Douro. This zone has been made into Portugal’s first Archaeological Park. This Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 2 December 1998. This entire open-air art collection, which buries the old myth of rock art only existing in caves, is exhibited in the Museum through original pieces of movable art, replicas of “rock panels” and interactive zones that use modern digital technology. The art can also be viewed in loco on organised visits to the valley with specialised guides (advance booking required). Visit also (no advance booking required) the Museum which provides an overview of the Ice Age Coa Valley rock-art, its archaeological context as well as magnificent views over the Coa and Douro rivers. Museum opening times: High season: 09:00 AM - 06:00 PM; Closes at lunchtime (01:00 PM - 02-00 PM) in low season from the 20th of October until the last day of February. Closed on Mondays, 1st of January, 1st of May and 25th of December.

Visit the archaeological sites of rock art in the CoaThe cultural programme "Rock Art of the CôaValley " is a cross-country programme through the Douro and CôaValleys with a visit to the Rock Art at the ArchaeologicalPark of the CôaValley, classified as World Heritage. The sites open to the public, classified as outdoor Museums are Penascosa, Canada do Inferno and Ribeira de Piscos. It is also possible to visit the physical space of the recently inaugurated Museum of Côa, which contains several reproductions of carved panels of the most important sites and from various periods/times of engraving. The museum and the Carved Rock sites on the valley complement each other for those who want to have a perception of the rare patrimony that exists in the CôaValley.Through Sabor Douro e Aventura it is possible to start this course with a guide in the “Art Galery” which is the Magnificent Douro and CôaValley.