The Arrives del Duero They make up one of the largest border protected areas in all of Europe, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, between Spain and Portugal. The Spanish part is divided between the provinces of Zamora and Salamanca. The Junta de Castilla y León declared Los Arribes as a Natural Park on April 11, 2002, the Portuguese part had been declared Parque Natural do Douro Internacional in 1998.

Since 1990, the territory occupied by Arribes del Duero has been cataloged as a “Special Protection Area for Birds” (SPA).
We find ourselves in a unique landscape, with its own toponymy. In Leonese, the terms arribes, arribes or arrivalnzos are used to refer to the peculiar orographic configuration of the rivers in this area located on the Raya between Spain and Portugal. Commonly, we talk about Arribes del Duero, but there are also Arribes del Águeda, Esla, Huebra, Tormes and Uces.

Thus we could hear talk of “As Arribas” in Portugal, “Las Arribes” in Salamanca and “Los Arribes” in Zamora, a term that is becoming the most frequent. In short, the arribes are the steep slopes that are located on both sides of all these rivers. Rivers that are encased in a deep depression with a great difference in altitude with the penillanura that surrounds them.

A region with a more temperate climate than we could imagine due to its latitude, and that on the Portuguese side surprises us with its orange tree crops, a Mediterranean landscape of olive and holm oak trees and large blocks of granite.

The high concentration of reservoirs and hydroelectric jumps favored by the geomorphology of the territory has, however, marked a marked depopulation.

The entire area is committed to promoting local development, where sustainable tourism, ecotourism has increasing importance. Various river cruises, visits to waterfalls and viewpoints or peaks, incredible possibilities for observing birdlife, which has the black stork and the Egyptian vulture as two of its most appreciated emblems. Geology, flora and fauna of great value for nature lovers.

Added to these natural resources is a great cultural heritage, with beautiful towns like Fermoselle, and many manifestations of rural culture: cigoñales to irrigate the farmland, small houses or shepherds' huts, curtains or blinds to delimit those lands. . Lands that offer us products of the highest quality such as wine, oil, Vilviestre cottage cheese, honey...

In addition to protected spaces, there are proposals of great value for ecotourism such as Douro Nature Trail, the GR 14 Trail that becomes a backbone to explore the entire area on foot, an ideal destination for Hiking.

We also find numerous proposals for the mountain biking in Los Arribes, with several BTT Centers.

Local administrations are increasingly aware of the importance of sustainability and promoting more responsible and sustainable tourism.

As a result of this commitment, actions are launched such as the one that will be held next April 26 in Zamora with the title: “SUSTAINABLE DESTINATIONS FOR RESPONSIBLE TOURISTS”. Organized by the Provincial Tourism Board of Zamora, which joins the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development with the celebration of this day with the collaboration of our colleagues from Koan Consulting.

A border and welcoming territory that awaits us to show us its natural and cultural wealth.