Description Vila de Rei

Vila de Rei is a Portuguese town belonging to the district of Castelo Branco, in the province of Beira Baixa, Centro region and sub-region of the Middle Tejo, with about 2,497 inhabitants.

It is the seat of a municipality with an area of ??191.55 km² and 3,452 inhabitants (2011), subdivided into 3 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipality of Sertã, to the east by Mação, to the south by Sardoal and Abrantes and to the west by Ferreira do Zêzere.

The county is crossed by the National Road N2, the longest road in Portugal, and also enjoys the waters of the Zêzere River, more precisely the Castelo de Bode Albufeira for water collection and bathing activities.

About 2 km is the Geodetic Center of Continental Portugal, in Serra da Melriça. At the top of this mountain, a landmark about 20 meters high is built, called "Picoto", thus marking the Center at the level of geodesic coordinates. Wikipedia

If you imagine a line that crosses Portugal from North to South of Portugal, and another between East and West, Vila de Rei is located strictly in the geodesic center of the country, a fact that is marked in a Picoto placed in the Serra da Melriça, in a point that is also an excellent viewpoint over the region.

Vila de Rei owes its name to King Dom Dinis who in the century. XIII gave him a charter and granted him several privileges. It is in honor of his wife D. Isabel that the Holy Queen's Festival is held annually in May.

In a region where the pine tree is the predominant element of vegetation and the air is pure, there are villages that seem preserved in time, such as Água Formosa with its houses implanted on the hillside, the streets paved with shale and the medieval bridge.

One of the main viewpoints in this area is the Penedo Furado, from where you can admire a beautiful panorama of the river beaches of the Ribeira de Codes valley, which before reaching this place precipitates by the waterfalls of Bufareira between natural pools.