Alto (High) Minho

Viana do Castelo Alto Minho

In Alto-Minho are the lands of the northwest of Portugal, on the left bank of the River Minho, until its mouth, in the Atlantic Ocean, in the city of Caminha. On the right bank are the lands of Galicia (Spain).

Minho-Lima, North of Portugal - Alto Minho (previously Minho-Lima) corresponds to the extreme northwest region of Portugal, that is, the Viana do Castelo district. The city of Viana do Castelo is home to both the Alto Minho and the district and the municipality of the same name.

District of Viana do Castelo

The towns in the district are, in general, small. Only two have more than ten thousand inhabitants, the host city, Viana do Castelo (36,750 inhabitants) and the coastal town of Esposende (10,000 inhabitants). Half of the district's host cities have far less than 5,000 inhabitants, therefore, cities small. Arcos de Valdevez is the smallest of them all, with only 1,700 inhabitants.


The main cities of the District of Viana do Castelo, with ten municipalities, are Viana do Castelo itself (36,750 inhab.), the host city, Vila Nova de Cerveira (around 9,250 inhabitants), Melgaço (around 8,500 inhabitants), the northernmost municipality of Portugal, Valença (with 8,000 inhabitants), Ponte da Barca (around 4,400 inhabitants), Ponte de Lima (around 3,800 inhabitants), one of the oldest cities de Portugal, Monção (with 3,500 inhabitants), Caminha (around 2,500 inhabitants), Paredes de Coura (around 2,100 inhabitants) and Arcos de Valdevez (about 1,700 inhab.).

Rio Minho

Five of these cities are on the banks of the Minho River: Caminha, at the mouth of the river, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Valença do Minho, Monsoon and Melgaço.

Rio Lima

Another three of these cities are on the banks of the River Lima: Viana do Castelo, at the mouth of the river, Ponte de Lima and Ponte da Barca. The Lima River (in Galician Limia), with a 135 km course, rises on Mount Talariño, in Ourense (Galicia, Spain). He enters Portugal in the nearby Lindoso and Soajo and then passes through Ponte da Barca.

Rio Vez

The small town of Arcos de Valdevez is on the banks of the River Vez, whose source is in the Serra do Soajo, in the PNPG (National Park of the Peneda Gerês), east of Alto Minho.

Rio Coura

As for the last of these cities, Paredes de Coura, is crossed by the Coura River (a tributary of the left bank of the Minho River), where, in one of the its beaches, takes place one of the most important Summer Festivals in Portugal, the Paredes de Coura Festival.

Traveling through Alto Minho

For the traveler, moving around Alto Minho is more of a tour than a journey itself. Next...