Setor 6 – 55km
On the Left Bank
We enter the municipality of Mértola ALENTEJO!
Departing from the Vascão stream, let’s follow the GR15 as well as the routes to Santiago de Compostela, until we reach the small village of Mesquita. At the intersecting entrance to the town, go towards the right and onto the wide road that leads you to the river port of Mesquita. Cross the Guadiana by boat!!! From Pomarão, make an itinerary that follows dirt paths with some asphalted sections until Mértola. Passing by Formoa we cease to observe the river, we follow open landscapes, pastures and woods, then we cross the villages of Picoitos and Alves, until we reach Santana de Cambas. From here to Mina de S. Domingos, we travel through the old mining area crossing landscapes almost out of science fiction, very exposed to the sun. Pay attention to the various lagoons and acidic water runoff (DANGER). From Mina de S. Domingos to Mértola, the landscape is greener, we walk along cropland, pastures, pine and cork oak stands, then we climb to the hermitage of Our Lady of Amparo for a superb panorama, and continue on rustic paths towards the Roman road that takes us to Mértola.
There are offshoots to the PR4 and PR10 on this route.
Please make sure that you reserve a boat 24 hours in advance of your trip, at the riverside port through the following contacts:
Jorge Reis (+351) 961 841 494
Beira Rio Naútica (+351) 913 402 033
Happy Guadiana (*351) 969 002 218
Vascão
Start
55km
Extension
Easy
Difficulty
4m
Minimum Altitude
263m
Maximum Altitude
ROUTE MAP Find out more about the route variation and the services you can find on your way.
Maps and Brochures
With the brochures of the Rota do Guadiana, you will have all the information organized on your smartphone, being able to print for better consultation. Download now.
FAUNA AND FLORA What can we see on the path of Sector 6?
The entire route is done within the Vale do Guadiana Natural Park, an area of great biodiversity. Along this path you can easily see some great birds of prey and many other birds. In the area of Mina de S. Domingos it is possible to observe the swift-swift (Apus caffer), a rare species in Portugal and Europe. Also in this area we find a curious endemic plant, which in Portugal is only known here: Erica andevalensis lives in very acid and rich in heavy metals soils in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, that is, it is an exclusive plant in this mining area of Alentejo and Andalusia .