This image has been Republished with Permission from besttime2travel.com
The small town of Arouca in the north of Portugal has embraced its location in the lavish mountains and valleys that hug the Paiva river and has become a haven for nature lovers and adventure seekers. The UNESCO Geopark offers some amazing activities like abseiling, white river rafting and the 8 km hike on the wooden Paiva Pathways which stretch along the riverbank giving tourist some of the most spectacular views of the area.
Exactly one year ago on the 29 April 2021, they took sightseeing in the area to a new level with the opening of the world’s longest pedestrian drawbridge. The bridge that took two years to build, is a simple design with two massive concrete towers at either end of the valley and steel cables that hold up a see-through grid steel mesh allowing one to see the valley and river below. The bridge spans the length of 516 m and lies 175 m above the Paiva River. At a cost of € 2.3 million, the people of Arouca are hoping that the bridge will solidify their position on the Portuguese map and boost tourism to the area.
