The Bestança River is a watercourse in the municipality of Cinfães, Portugal, which rises at 1229 meters of altitude in the middle of the Montemuro mountain range. It has a length of about 13.5 kilometers and flows into Porto Antigo, on the left bank of one of the best reservoirs in the Douro, between the parishes of Oliveira do Douro and Cinfães.
Its name comes from “Bestias” which means that it runs naturally in an area of wild fauna and flora. It has a well-structured riverside vegetation and clear waters that make it one of the rivers with the best environmental quality.
Given the high degree of natural conservation of the entire river course and as a sustainable ecosystem of indisputable importance, the Bestança River was integrated into the Natura 2000 Network and classified as a Corine Biotop, assuming a national and international ecological importance of exponential value.
The watershed of the Bestança River is represented in the Military Charter of Portugal, scale 1:25 000, sheets 136 and 146, of the Cartographic Services of the Army, as well as in the Geological Chart of Portugal, scale 1:50 000, of the Geological Services of Portugal.
The relief of the region of the Bestança River basin is altimetrically wide, oscillating 1200 meters from the South-southeast region of the municipality of Cinfães, corresponding to the Montemuro mountain range.
The watershed of the Bestança River is densely wooded with the occurrence of native species in a state of complete preservation, which presents a mixed forest of oaks (Quercus sp.), chestnut trees (Castanea sativa), laurels (Laurus nobilis), willows (Sallis sp.), alder trees (Alnus glutinosa) and some fruit trees such as walnut trees (Juglans regia) and holly trees (Ilex aquifolium).
In the faunal diversity, there are several species such as the otter (Lutra lutra), the Lusitanian salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica) and the trout (Salmo trutta), which depend on the constant and naturally ecological balance of the river course and the maintenance of riparian habitats. The area surrounding the course of the river is also home to other species of avifauna of which the golden eagle (Aquilla chrysaetos) stands out.
At the level of occupation and enjoyment of the soil, the river drainage basin is very limited in human action, presenting only small rural agglomerations surrounded by agricultural production lands, where most of the time a family subsistence action is practiced. Of note is its ethnographic and cultural richness, preserved over generations by resistant elements such as mills and stone bridges, and archaeological finds.
The Bestança River rises in the Montemuro mountain range, next to the point called Portas de Montemuro, and flows in a narrow valley (deep and rectilinear), until it joins the Douro River in the place of Porto Antigo. In the 13.5 km of its course, it descends about 1200 meters of altitude from the source to about 15 meters at the union to the Douro River.
On the right bank of the Bestança River, the streams of Ourique and Alhões are the most important; and, on the opposite bank, the streams of Enxidrô, Prado, Tendais and Canadas are the ones that strengthen its flow.
The abundance of water, provided by the granite substrate, imprints on much of the watershed of the Bestança River a completely natural green tone, generated by the dense forest that the waters enrich.
The basin of the Bestança River is limited to the Cabrum River and to the West by the revolting course of the Sampaio stream.
Double Room with Solarium
1 extra-large double bed
Private bathroom
Bedroom area 28 m²
It features a private terrace and a balcony with views of the Douro River
