about the place
Arcos de Valdevez is a town in the district of Viana do Castelo, in Alto Minho, and the seat of a municipality covering 447.60 km², with 20,718 inhabitants and 36 parishes. It borders Monção, Melgaço, Galicia, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima and Paredes de Coura. The name combines 'Arcos', a remnant of the ancient Roman and Visigothic Arcobriga, and 'Valdevez', the valley of the river Vez. It was here that the Tournament of Arcos de Valdevez, or 'Recontro de Valdevez', took place — an episode from the early days of Portuguese nationhood that preceded the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. In 1662, during the War of Restoration, the town was set ablaze by the Castilian troops of D. Baltazar Rojas Pantoja, who were quartered at the Paço de Giela. The highest point in the municipality is Pedrada, at 1,416 metres, in the Serra do Soajo. Part of the territory lies within the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
