We weren’t aware of the Arouca 516 and Paiva Walkways until reading about them in our guide book. How can one of the most impressive structures in Portugal go so much under the radar? I can only say, this incredible swing bridge with staircases and walkways meandering the valley floor beneath is just superb.
What is the Arouca 516 and Paiva Walkways?
For those who haven’t heard of this spectacular location, Arouca 516 was the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world. That title has now been overtaken by China, nonetheless, you can imagine the scale of this amazing swing bridge.
The bridge of Arouca 516 is actually 516m long and hangs 175m above the River Paiva, connecting both sides of the river at this high level point.
Its situation within the Arouca UNESCO global geopark, brings an area of fossils, stones, incredible scenery and nature together.
As for the Paiva walkways, this 8km route winds alongside the left bank of the Paiva River. Here, a series of wooden staircases lead up and down the cliffs either side of the Arouca 516 bridge on a truly outstanding route.
Booking ahead – Arouca 516 and Paiva Walkways
This is no ordinary walking route and bridge. That’s because visitors have to buy tickets and choose a time slot first.
We booked our tickets online on the morning of our visit, incorporating the Arouca 516 and Paiva walkways. There were a few time slots on this fine early May day available, but we chose 2pm, paying €12 each at the time.
Guided walk only on the bridge
The time slot is for access to the bridge, because this is only available as a guided walk for small groups at various times. More on that later.
Basically, you can’t just walk over the bridge!
Where we start the walk – Arouca 516 and Paiva Walkways
With our booking confirmed, we make our way in the campervan to our starting point for the walk. There’s motorhome parking here, so we park up in the large motorhome area at the back of the other big car parks.
This is the parking area at Areinho starting point Canelas.
A short walk from the campervan takes us downhill through some woods. We emerge on a track leading to the river bank where a cafe, toilets and lower car park are located.
It’s a gorgeous spring weather day, with sun shining and blue skies. For us the shorts and t-shirts are on and sunglasses at the ready.
We take in the gorgeous river scenery, take a toilet stop and set off on the 40 minute walk towards Arouca 516.
Wooden staircases
Initially, a series of boardwalks meander along the route, gradually leaving the river bank behind. A pretty stone bridge comes into view and just beyond are a series of wooden staircases leading up a cliff.
This route is perhaps not for those without some level of fitness, because there’s not just a few steps here. No, far from it. In fact, there are 500 steps for us to climb up to the top.
The steep climb sees us arrive at the Arouca 516 and the entrance area which is currently closed until the next group tour.
It’s a good opportunity for us to eat, so we take out our picnic and plonk ourselves on a rock. There’s no toilets here or picnic benches, but there are great views of the countryside.
Our bridge guide arrives
A few minutes before our 2pm time slot, staff call over the waiting group and scan our tickets. We’re then allocated a bridge guide who stays with us for the duration and we’re ushered through to a path heading towards the big event – the bridge walk.
It’s absolutely huge, this metal suspension bridge dangling in mid-air – and we’re about to cross it!
A photo opportunity at the entrance to the bridge structure awaits. Here, we’re all able to take a close up look at the structure but there’s no stepping onto the bridge just yet.
The guide gives us a brief introduction to the geological valley and the bridge itself. Explaining how the UNESCO status came about, thanks to the natural significance of the area.
Time to walk the bridge
After our safety briefing and little bit of history on the bridge, our guide gives us the thumbs up to start the walk across.
This mighty structure has 127 metal grid trays for us to walk on and taking those first steps is quite something.
Looking straight ahead and keeping pace to reach the opposite side without too much looking down keeps us from getting too nervy.
Luckily we’re at the front of the group, so we can take in the views and really get a feel of the engineering of this structure.
It’s not a windy day, but up here there’s a strong breeze blowing. We’re able to take photo’s but we don’t hang around, wanting to continue to the land in front of us and not on the lack of land beneath our feet.
The scenery is breathtaking. This early May day is particularly good, with greenery bursting into life and a spectacular waterfall cascading down the cliffs.
Reaching the opposite side –
The bridge walk is just amazing, everything we expect and more. We don’t feel queasy or nervous, if anything there’s a touch of thrill seeking about this bridge.
Reaching the opposite river bank brings us back with our guide and a 2nd opportunity for a talk about the bridge. It’s an interesting insight, into its construction, which was built largely by the climbing community.
We’re then ushered back the way we came, crossing the mighty structure for a second time to take us back to where we first stepped out.
Paiva walkway continues
After the exhilaration of the bridge walk, it’s time to continue along the Paiva walkway route with a further 7km to go.
More huge wooden staircases, this time take us down to lovely boardwalks which are seemingly at river level.
We’re finishing our walk at Espiunca on this one-way route. It’s now mainly downhill, with goats greeting us on the boardwalk and the beauty of the river beside us.
Early summer blooms provide a splash of colour and a mountain dog guiding the goats keeps us in its sights.
Another small suspension bridge gives opportunity to cross the river back and forth. This is low level and extremely different to Arouca 516, an almost toy-like mini version!
About an hour before our finish we come across toilets, thank goodness!
Taxi back to the start
The final stage of the walk takes in much of the river. If someone placed us here without knowing where we were, Portugal is never a place we would imagine being in. This area is so far removed from most people’s perceptions of Portugal and resembles nothing of the Algarve and coastal resorts so familiar from tourist brochures.
At the finish in Espiunca, there’s no shortage of taxi rides waiting, including open top jeeps, for a bit of a different method of transport.
There’s a cafe here too and parking options for motorhomes in a grassy area beside the cafe. This was free on our visit, just like the motorhome parking where we park at the start.
Our taxi back to the campervan parking area isn’t free, this costs us €17 for the 15km journey along winding roads.
It takes some time to get back, mainly because of the roads, but we’re in no hurry and enjoy the ride.
Our walk including the bridge has taken about 4 1/2 hours in total and we’ve loved every minute.
For anyone touring Portugal, we can’t think of a better place to visit, Arouca 516 and Paiva walkways has been a real highlight of this Portugal tour.
