Parque Natural da Senhora do Salto

The place of Senhora do Salto provides moments of tranquility, freshness and its cliffs allow the practice of rappelling, climbing, mountain biking or hiking.

Despite the existence of a valley with steep slopes, a long-distance visual range is possible if we go up the slope of the Santa Iria mountain range.
This area is part of the Natura 2000 Network, which provides protection to habitats and species of flora and fauna, making it possible to observe the peregrine falcon, the rock swallow, among others.

The place of Salto is wrapped in a legend, according to which a knight got rid of death by invoking the protection of the Lady after an inadvertent jump in the abyss. As a sign of thanks for the miracle, the knight will have had the small chapel of Nossa Senhora do Salto built.

Protected along the banks of the Sousa River and its tributaries, we find galleries of alder, ash and willow, to which are joined the oak, the hawthorn, the little blood and the laurel. In its shadow and in the imposing escarpments carved by the Sousa River, fantastic humid environments are created that favor the development of insectivorous plants, an incredible variety of ferns as well as an exuberant carpet of mosses.

In the steep valleys, small oak groves resist, species that were once dominant in the landscape, but which ended up giving way to eucalyptus and maritime pine plantations. When traveling through higher areas, we come across a formidable vegetation cover of heather, gorse, gorse and gorse.
These habitats support an enormous diversity of animal species, some of which occur only in the Iberian Peninsula (boga, bordalo, redhead, Lusitanian salamander, pointed snout frog, orange bellied newt, water lizard ... ).

The diversity of habitats considered priority for conservation and the high biodiversity of this area led to its classification as Site of Community Importance of the European Union's network of protected areas (Natura 2000).

Services:
-Parking lot
- Picnic area
- Pedestrian paths
-Activities:
Visit to the Interpretation Center of Sr.ª do Salto (previous booking)

For more information:
Paredes Interactive Tourism Store
Email: turismo@cm-paredes.pt
Phone: +351 255 788 952

Source: https://www.cm-paredes.pt/