PR22Jewish Route

Three layers of history

This route connects three layers of history within a few kilometres. It is not a riverside trail with a chapel along the way — it is a circuit around Rebordelo that begins at a house bearing traces of a medieval Jewish presence, descends to the confluence of the Rabaçal and the Mente, and climbs to the sanctuary of Penha de França. The Jewish heritage, Marian devotion, and the rural life of today fit into little more than twelve kilometres.

The elevation change is significant: between the confluence, at under 400 metres altitude, and the high point of Vale de Armeiro, above 630 metres, there are more than 250 metres to gain, and the route accumulates over 500 metres of total ascent.

Rebordelo

The route is circular and begins and ends in Rebordelo, beside the Church of Saint Lawrence and the fountain. On the way out of the village, a house preserves traces of a medieval Jewish presence — the defining feature of this route. The trail also passes the Adega Cooperativa de Rebordelo, where the productive structure of the land becomes apparent, and through the historic streets of the village.

Penha de França and the Fraga das Ferraduras

About one and a half kilometres from the village stands the Capela de Nossa Senhora da Penha de França, a Marian sanctuary of local devotion, and the Fraga das Ferraduras, where oral tradition records the apparition of Our Lady to a young shepherdess, leaving horseshoe marks on the rock and a spring regarded as miraculous. The pilgrimage on 14 and 15 August is one of the most attended in the municipality.

The Mina do Alto do Sarilho

On the high ground between the sanctuary and the valley, the path passes the former Mina do Alto do Sarilho, a quiet reminder that this land also lived from what lay beneath it.

The mouth of the Mente

At the bottom of the valley, the route follows the banks of the river Rabaçal to the point where the Mente joins it, beside the bridge giving access to São Jomil. This is the lowest and coolest point of the circuit, and the stretch of river landscape that provides its other argument.

Vale de Armeiro

Between the confluence and Rebordelo, the path climbs through Vale de Armeiro on steep gradients up to the plateau where the village sits. Those wishing to explore more of the Rabaçal will find PR11 · Tresmonte, in Gestosa, above the gorge of the same river.