Vales: Serra de Santa Comba and the Santa Comba legend

Vales is shaped by Serra de Santa Comba, the legend of Santa Comba dos Vales and historic local connections. Almond growing is also part of the region’s identity. If you’re looking for a holiday rental in Vales, you can first decide which of these aspects will matter most for your stay: the forested landscape, the religious tradition or the agricultural connections.

Serra de Santa Comba: forest and elevation

Serra de Santa Comba reaches 1,041 metres. Dense forests of pine, oak, cork oak and holm oak characterise the mountain range. Its elevation and tree species give the landscape a distinct character: alongside the terrain, the forest and its four characteristic tree species stand out. This offers a different focus for planning your trip than local history and religious tradition. If you’d like to make the landscape the centre of your stay, Serra is Vales’ defining natural feature.

Legend and pilgrimage

Vales is said to be the setting of the legend of Santa Comba dos Vales. The Romaria de Santa Comba pilgrimage stems from this legend and takes place every year on 8 August. Thus, a storytelling tradition and a recurring festival date complement the landscape associated with Serra. If you’re planning a stay around 8 August, check the event dates in advance. This lets you take the annual date into account and weigh the cultural focus against your interest in the mountain landscape.

Chapels and historic local connections

An account from the 18th century describes the chapels of Santa Comba and São Leonardo on Serra de Santa Comba as being right next to each other. Historical parish records place the Chapel of Santa Comba in the parish of São Nicolau dos Vales. The parish church was historically known as “Igreja de São Nicolao nos Valles de Santa Comba”. These names link specific places with Vales’ religious history. In Zebras stood the Chapel of Santo Amaro, also associated with the parish of São Nicolau dos Vales. This adds another historic local connection to the chapels on Serra.

Archaeology and regional agriculture

A classification process for the archaeological sites of Serra de Santa Comba (Serra de Passos) was underway in 2014 and included the freguesia of Vales in the municipality of Valpaços. The municipality’s 2025 cultural heritage annex still lists the ensemble. This archaeological connection adds another aspect to the cultural history alongside the religious tradition.

Vales is part of the Valpaços almond-growing area. The municipality of Valpaços is also home to a particularly important almond-growing area. The wine-growing classification is separate: Valpaços is one of the three subregions of the protected designation of origin DOP “Trás-os-Montes”. Almond growing is therefore explicitly associated with Vales, while the wine-growing classification applies to Valpaços. This distinction offers a regional perspective that goes beyond the landscape and religious history.

Choose the right focus for your stay

When choosing a holiday rental, you can start by narrowing down your travel plans: if you want to focus on the landscape, Serra takes centre stage; if you’re interested in religious tradition, the legend, pilgrimage and chapels come to the fore. The almond-growing area adds an agricultural connection to these themes. If people in your travel group have different interests, this contrast can make it easier to plan together: Serra represents the natural side, while the stories and chapels offer a cultural perspective.

Discover more places in Vales

You can also explore São João Da Corveira and other places in Vales.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Murça, Peso Da Régua, Provesende, Valpaços, Santa Marta De Penaguião, Mesão Frio.

Go to the main travel overview: Vila Real.