Discover Murça: Tinhela, History and Regional Cuisine

Murça combines nature along the Tinhela River with historical landmarks, regional wines and sweets. For planning your trip, this means you can focus on a route through Vila Murça and to the Tinhela, discover historical landmarks, or get to know regional wines and sweets. These different interests can be taken into account from the outset when looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Murça.

Nature along the Tinhela and in the Tua Valley

The Vale do Tua Regional Natural Park includes Murça on the right bank of the Tua River. A particularly tangible way to experience the landscape is the Trilho dos Passadiços do Tinhela circular trail. It begins and ends at the park’s Porta de Entrada de Murça, passes through Vila Murça towards the Tinhela River and provides access from Murça to the Tinhela via the Passadiços do Tinhela.

The Tinhela flows into the Tua in one of the steepest sections of the Tua Valley. This ecologically distinctive environment is home to 23 rare or endemic species of mosses and lichens. The Microrreserva do Rio Tinhela also provides favourable conditions for riparian and river birds such as nightingales, warblers, kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) and grey wagtails (Motacilla cinerea). The Eurasian water shrew (Galemys pyrenaicus), a small mammal with protected status, is also particularly common there. Those who wish to combine nature observation with physical activity can take these aspects into account when choosing their travel dates and the location of their accommodation in Murça, without restricting their stay to just one type of holiday.

Historical traces in and around Murça

One of the town’s landmarks is the Porca de Murça, a zoomorphic stone sculpture from protohistory and a clear symbol of Murça. The town’s history also includes the Capela da Misericórdia de Murça, built in 1692 and classified as an Imóvel de Interesse Público, meaning a building of public interest. The Pelourinho Manuelino de Murça dates from the time of Manuel I; he granted the town a new charter in 1512. The Pelourinho de Murça was also included in the first Portuguese decree of 1910 classifying older buildings as national monuments.

The Igreja Matriz de Murça contains a 16th-century triptych by Pedro de França. The history of the Crasto de Palheiros, also known as Fragada do Castro, reaches even further back: the 2.5-hectare prehistoric stone monument was remodelled between 2900 and 2300 BC in the Terra Quente region of Trás-os-Montes. A major Roman road also ran through Murça, connecting Astorga with the mouth of the Douro and crossing the Tinhela River. The Ponte e Calçada Romana site can be reached from the EN15 at the entrance to Murça via a road branching off to the right.

In Valongo de Milhais, in the municipality of Murça, the Casa Museu “Soldado Milhões” opened on 10 April 2023. Its open exhibition area features photographs, multimedia elements and objects, including originals and replicas, that provide an insight into the soldier’s era. The museum thus complements the older historical landmarks with an insight into a more recent historical period.

Wine, sweets and local products

The Adega Cooperativa de Murça is based in Vila Murça and produces DOC Douro wines under the “Caves de Murça” brand. Local cuisine also includes oven-roasted kid with small potatoes and oven-baked rice as a side dish. Those wishing to include regional specialities in their travel plans will also find olive oil, wine, honey and cheese among the local products on offer.

Queijadas and Toucinho do Céu are typical of Murça. These traditional sweets are made with chila, almonds and egg yolk. The tradition of convent sweets is now preserved by Maria José, a granddaughter of D. Serafina Alves.

Which accommodation location suits your trip?

If the Trilho dos Passadiços do Tinhela is the focus of your trip, this circular trail should determine your daily planning: its starting and ending point is at the Porta de Entrada de Murça, while the route passes through the town towards the Tinhela. For a culture-focused trip, the Porca de Murça, the chapel, the pelourinho, the Igreja Matriz and the Casa Museu “Soldado Milhões” take centre stage instead. You can therefore choose a holiday apartment or holiday home primarily according to your preferred mix of nature, local history and regional cuisine. This creates a travel plan that takes into account both shared discoveries and different interests within the family.

As additional destinations in this overview, you can also visit Candedo and Noura.

For the higher-level travel overview: Murça.