The 516 Arouca is the most iconic work of the Municipality of Arouca, consisting of railings and steel cables, with 516 meters span, 1.20 meters wide and 175 meters high above the Paiva river.
To understand the origin of the 516 Arouca, we have to go back to 2005, when the Municipality of Arouca had the vision of creating a Geopark. In this territory, the existence of a valuable geological heritage was recognised, with four geosites of international relevance, such as the mysterious parideira rocks or the fossils of the largest trilobites in the world, which, together with the rest of the natural and cultural heritage of the territory, justified the creation of the UNESCO World Geopark Arouca.
The UNESCO recognition raised, even more, the interest and attracted visitors from new and various countries. With tourism assuming itself as a strategic axis of local and national economic development and with the growing competitiveness, Arouca Geopark continued to create new focuses of tourist attraction. It was thus that, on June 20th 2015, the Municipality of Arouca inaugurated the now internationally known Paiva Footpaths.
It was in the surroundings of the Passadiços do Paiva, next to the Aguieiras waterfall, that the 516 Arouca was born, another unique work that makes the region a global reference. The largest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world connects the two banks, 175 metres above the Paiva river.
A work carried out under the presidency of the first woman to head the City Council, Margarida Belém, with monitoring and supervision carried out by the Planning and Works Division of the municipality of Arouca and co-financed by the PROVERE programme - Programme for the Economic Enhancement of Endogenous Resources of the FEDER - European Regional Development Fund - North 2020.
For the Municipality of Arouca, the construction of the 516 Arouca was a unique and enriching opportunity. After all, shaping an ambitious project brings a great responsibility, but also a significant privilege to have an infrastructure as emblematic as this in the municipality.
Tickets at
https://bookings.cm-arouca.pt/
Contacts
Interactive Tourism Store of Arouca
Rua Abel Botelho, n.º 4
4540-114 Arouca
Tel.: 256 940 258
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