Alfarela de Jales

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough. Alfarela de Jales is a village on the plateau, and what there is to experience here is mainly the landscape and the history of gold. Many won't be able to stay overnight here, because we have no documented accommodation. Then Alfarela is more of a rest after the long climb from Murça, before the route continues over its highest point.

Alfarela de Jales in Ninja numbers

• 831 metres is the altitude of Alfarela, 346 metres higher than Murça.
• 1,057 metres is what you reach tomorrow 8.1 kilometres beyond the village, at the highest point of the Caminho Leon de Rosmithal.
• 1992 is the year the Jales gold mine closed, the last gold mine in Portugal.
• 140.2 kilometres lie behind you since the start on the Douro, and 121.0 remain to Braga.

Arriving: via Pópulo onto the plateau

From Murça the route climbs for 23.0 kilometres, with 737 metres of ascent and 392 metres of descent. Via Pópulo and Carva you pass from the municipality of Murça into that of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and reach Alfarela de Jales on the plateau. The municipalities end one of their official stages here.

In brief: gold beneath the village

Alfarela de Jales was long a municipality of its own: King Afonso II gave the place a charter in 1220, and only in 1853 did it pass to Vila Pouca de Aguiar. The region became famous for its gold. The Romans were already mining gold on a large scale at nearby Tresminas in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. In the 20th century the Jales mine produced gold once more, from 1933 to 1992, as the last gold mine in Portugal. The roads to these mines are among the old routes on which the Bohemian embassy of 1466 later travelled to Braga.

What to see

• The plateau: From here the route becomes rougher and lonelier, and 8.1 kilometres beyond the village lies the highest point of the whole route.
• The interpretation centre at Tresminas: Two buildings explain Roman gold mining, and outside you can see installations for processing gold. Tresminas is not on the route but in the same municipality. At weekends it is open from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:00; weekday hours are unclear (as of October 2026); call ahead on +351 259 419 100.

Honestly

• No documented bed. Our database has no accommodation in Alfarela. The next one is 13.1 kilometres further on in Parada de Aguiar.
• Few supplies. We have not found a documented shop; buy enough in Murça for two days.
• Tomorrow you go above 1,000 metres. In fog or cold the plateau is unpleasant, so bring warm clothing.

Ninja tips

• Split the route differently if you can't find a bed. From Murça to Parada de Aguiar it is 36.1 kilometres; that is only one stage if you are well trained.
• Fill up on water. On the plateau between Alfarela and Parada de Aguiar lies the highest point of the whole route.

Onward: over the highest point to Parada de Aguiar

The next stage is short but high: 13.1 kilometres to Parada de Aguiar, with 271 metres of ascent and 383 metres of descent. 8.1 kilometres beyond Alfarela you reach the highest point of the Caminho Leon de Rosmithal at 1,057 metres. In Parada de Aguiar there is one accommodation in our database.

Deep dive: A land of gold

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Alfarela de Jales. About two minutes' reading.

The Romans and the gold

Long before pilgrims passed by here, miners came. In the first and second centuries AD the Romans mined gold on a large scale at Tresminas, not far from Alfarela. To carry the gold away they needed roads, and the network of routes that linked Trás-os-Montes with Braga is based on these roads.

A municipality on the plateau

In the Middle Ages Alfarela de Jales was a small municipality of its own. King Afonso the Second gave it a charter in 1220, and only in 1853 was it attached to Vila Pouca de Aguiar. In the summer of 1466 the Bohemian embassy of Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál travelled west through this area; their chronicler names nearby „Villa Panca“, Vila Pouca de Aguiar.

The end of the gold

In the twentieth century mining returned. The Jales mine produced gold from 1933 until it closed in 1992, as the last gold mine in Portugal. When this text was written, in autumn 2026, little of this wealth could be felt in the village. What remains is the expanse of the plateau, across which you walk tomorrow to the highest point of the route.