OUTDOOR

The Old Mill Bridge is located downstream of the River Sabor within the city of Bragança

The Rio Sabor, born in Spain, in the Serra da Parada (Zamora), soon after enters Portuguese territory, crossing the mountain range of Montesinho in the form of a small mountain river. After 100 km  of the Portuguese northeast, it empties in the river Douro, next to the locality of Tower of Moncorvo. The diversity of natural habitats, as well as species of fauna and flora in the Sabor valley, is remarkable. Only in Baixo Sabor, there are 20 types of natural habitats included in the Habitats Community Directive, of which 4 are considered priority conservation.

Flora

One of the peculiarities of this river is the vegetation existing in its bed of floods. The species that form this plant community are true living relics. Here are the most extensive and well preserved azoteas and cork oaks in the Northeast of Portugal, remnants of the Mediterranean forest that once dominated the entire region.

Fauna

 Diversity and habitat richness coupled with reduced levels of disturbance allow the presence of a diverse community of animals that includes numerous species protected by international conventions. The rupicolous ecosystems along the whole river harbor important nesting populations of birds with conservation status, such as the Bonelli's eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus), the king's eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) The black stork (Ciconia nigra), the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), the bufo-real (Bubo bubo) and the black-tailed (Oenanthe leucura).

Agriculture

In some areas located near the Sabor river, there are currently extensive olive and almond crops.

Project for the construction of the Baixo Sabor Dam

In 1996, after an attempt to build a large dam on the neighboring Côa River, abandoned due to the discovery of important rock art nuclei, an old project of similar characteristics reappears for the river Sabor.