Those travelling in search of cultural values or outdoor activities and communion with nature, such as golf, hunting, fishing or adventure sports like climbing or rafting, sooner or later end up making Amarante an obvious destination.

Inserted in the transition strip between the north-west Atlantic and the north-east of Trás-os-Montes and encompassing the municipalities of Celorico de Basto, Mondim de Basto, Amarante, Baião and Marco de Canaveses, the Baixo Tâmega area emerges where the homogeneity of its physical characteristics allows it to be identified as a differentiated unit from neighbouring areas.

Centred on the River Tâmega, considered in itself to be a traditional uniting element, this area is bordered by a series of mountain formations - Aboboreira, Marão, Alvão and Lameira - with the mountains and sheltered valleys being the main physical determinants, largely responsible for the diversity of conditions and, at the same time, providing regional unity.

Read one way or another, Amarante is a real crossroads: its history, its monuments, its traditions. It's also a hub for discovering the Lands of Basto, Trás-os-Montes, the Douro and, a little further afield, but made easier by the new roads, the city of Porto itself.

Discovering Amarante, the city and the municipality, is an adventure you want to experience. If it's nature that's calling, the destination is the River Tâmega or the Abobobeira and Marão mountains, both of which offer dreamy landscapes and villages with friendly, welcoming people, rich in tradition and with architecture characterised by granite and schist. Travanca do Monte or Carvalho de Rei, in Aboboreira; Murgido or Covelo do Monte, in Marão. Right next door, the Alvão Natural Park beckons.