Tua Walking Festival'24

Second edition of the festival that combines hiking with the promotion of the five municipalities that make up the Vale do Tua Regional Natural Park has already been presented and aims to welcome over a thousand national and international tourists over five weekends.

The Regional Natural Park of the Tua Valley (PNRVT) will host, between March and October, the second edition of the Tua Walking Festival, which starts from the 12 already approved pedestrian routes but aims to showcase the landscape, heritage, culture, tradition, and identity products over five weekends, in the municipalities that are part of the park: Alijó, Carrazeda de Ansiães, Mirandela, Murça, and Vila Flor.

After the success of the inaugural year in 2023, with sold-out capacity at all five events, the organization decided to increase the maximum number of registrations. "Considering the demand, we decided to increase this maximum number for each event from 150 to 250 people, but only 250 because the quality we aim to maintain prevents us from reaching an even higher number, as we want to maintain the balance between nature conservation and biodiversity without altering nature tourism," explains the director of PNRVT.

With some new features this year, there is no doubt about the added value of this event, as through hiking, PNRVT, PORTUGALNTN, and the park municipalities seek to attract people to the region and instill in them the desire to return.

Festival makes use of existing trails

The Tua Walking Festival was designed by the Nature Tourism company PORTUGALNTN, in close collaboration with each of the involved municipalities and the Regional Natural Park of the Tua Valley.

"It is very important that the municipalities and the Park understand that if there is a balance between structural investment and what it can bring back to the communities, and in this festival, this is evident because it makes use of the existing trails that can be enjoyed throughout the year, it is possible to take advantage of this infrastructure as a tourist product not only packaged in a festival but also by tour operators who can create their own programs throughout the year," says Domingos Pires, one of the responsible persons at PORTUGALNTN.

Another advantage highlighted is the park's great concern in always keeping the hiking trails well maintained. This is a very important asset because it provides safety guarantees to those who come to the territory.

The second edition of the Tua Walking Festival was presented at the Ecoteca in Mirandela on Thursday, precisely in the city where the festival will begin on March 23 and 24. For the host councilor, there is no doubt about the impact the festival has on the Park's municipalities.

"Due to the valuable and unique heritage of this region, I believe this festival is crucial because it can be a lever for the sale of other tourist packages, because those who come, will surely return," highlights Júlia Rodrigues, also challenging local communities to have "greater involvement in the event."

This year, the festival will begin in Mirandela on March 23 and 24. In addition to the usual activities, there will be a hiking seminar on Saturday. On April 13 and 14, it will be the turn of Carrazeda de Ansiães. In Vila Flor, the festival takes place on May 25 and 26. In Alijó, it runs on September 13, 14, and 15. The festival ends on October 5 and 6, in Murça.

Registrations are already open on the online platform of the Regional Natural Park of the Tua Valley: [click here]