Santa Marta de Penaguião offers a short hiking trail that starts in the town center and passes through vineyard landscapes. Other natural attractions and viewpoints are located in different parts of the municipality. When planning your visit, you can choose between starting in the town center and visiting destinations elsewhere in the municipality. The cultural heritage is also diverse: it ranges from a 20th-century granite monument to a Manueline pillory.
Hiking and landscape
The PR7 – Trilho de Santa Marta is a short hiking trail that starts in the center of Santa Marta de Penaguião. It passes through vineyard landscapes and includes cultural, historical, religious and viticultural heritage. Its route thus connects the landscape with several themes that define the area.
In the municipality, the Trilho do Aguilhão is located in Louredo. Its diverse flora attracts birds and insects; along the trail, you encounter the River Aguilhão, which is lined by two mills. The two trails have different points of focus: the PR7 starts in the town center and is short, while the described features of the Trilho do Aguilhão include flora, wildlife and riverside mills.
Cultural heritage in Santa Marta de Penaguião
The Cruzeiro da Independência de Santa Marta de Penaguião is a granite monument erected in 1940. The Pelourinho de Santa Marta de Penaguião displays Manueline style and is classified as an Imóvel de Interesse Público, or a publicly recognized cultural property. The Capela de Santa Marta reflects the connection to the municipality’s name: the chapel is the origin of its current name. Inside is a simple, vernacular neoclassical wooden altar.
A Vindimadeira stands at the southern entrance to Santa Marta de Penaguião. The monument pays tribute to the women who took part in the grape harvest in the Douro and symbolizes the essential role of women in the region’s wine culture. Another testament to the area’s history is the Solar do século XVIII: the 18th-century manor house was restored and now houses the Paços do Concelho. In the municipality, the Igreja Paroquial de São João de Lobrigos is also classified as an Imóvel de Interesse Público.
Viewpoints across the municipality
The viewpoints are located in different places. In Fontes, the Miradouro de São Pedro, at an altitude of 657 meters, offers a panoramic view of the Douro region. Also in Fontes, the Miradouro da Senhora da Serra is located on the 1,416-meter-high summit of the Serra do Marão. From Cumeeira, the Miradouro de Santa Barbara overlooks the slopes of the Corgo, the Alto Douro Vinhateiro and the Serra do Marão.
Another Miradouro de São Pedro is located in São João de Lobrigos. From there, the view extends across several parishes in Santa Marta de Penaguião and neighboring areas of Régua and Lamego. The viewpoint also has a well-equipped picnic area. When choosing where to go, you can therefore consider whether a panoramic view of the Douro region, views of the Corgo and Serra do Marão, or the picnic area matters most to you.
Viticulture and practical information
Extensive vineyards shape the landscape of the Santa Marta de Penaguião region and cover a large part of its area. Caves Santa Marta wines are made from selected grape varieties grown in the municipality’s privileged vineyard locations. The Adega Cooperativa de Santa Marta was founded in 1959. Viticulture is therefore part of both the landscape and local wine production.
The municipal regulations published in 2025 provide for free admission to exhibitions and craft exhibitions held in municipal tourism spaces in Santa Marta de Penaguião. Check the applicable conditions before visiting. These tourism spaces may also have areas for gastronomic tastings; check in advance whether they are available at the location you plan to visit.
When looking for a hotel, your planned focus can help you decide: would you like to explore mainly the town center and the PR7, or also destinations in Fontes, Cumeeira, São João de Lobrigos and Louredo?
Discover more destinations: Cumeeira.
Return to the main travel overview: Santa Marta De Penaguião.
