the aldeias do xisto
A unique cultural landscape in Central Portugal. The Aldeias do Xisto are the gateway to a diverse range of tourism and leisure opportunities in close contact with nature and the region’s culture.
5,000 km2
27 villages
4 territorial units
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Territorial Units
The Aldeias do Xisto are spread across four Territorial Units, reflecting the geomorphological characteristics of these landscapes, as well as the architectural features and urban typologies of this group of villages. Although the territory is mainly made up of schist it is also quite diverse.
Visit and enjoy
Aldeias do Xisto are the gateway to a wonderful territory with a wide range of tourism and leisure offerings in close contact with nature and the region's cultural traditions. In every village, there are officially approved walking trails. Bicycle enthusiasts will be surprised by the variety of mountain bike and road trails. In the summer, the network of river beaches offers refreshing and peaceful moments in the purest waters in the country. At the Lojas Aldeias do Xisto, you'll find traditional and contemporary products that you can enjoy while sipping a tea. Explore our events calendar; there’s always something surprising happening here. And at the end of the day, nestle in one of the many accommodations available in the villages. When you wake up, you'll want to do it all over again.
Create and learn
The villages are schools, learning spaces where bread, cheese, vegetable gardens, olive oil, walls, and houses are still made, and where the entire landscape is a book. In the Aldeias do Xisto, these tacit and traditional know-how intersect with scientific, technical, and artistic knowledge through workshops, residencies, and deep immersion projects in the local context. The goal is to generate new products and services, prototypes, and experiences that enrich the ability to create and promote new commercial, strategic, and emotional connections with the market.
Live and invest
The Aldeias do Xisto are a brand destination that, over the past few years, has managed to establish a unique enclave within the Central Region, and in the country as a whole, based on tourism, innovation and intuition – a place to live, invest and create. The villages have done so by always seeking out what is most distinctive and authentic in the landscape and communities, attracting investment and opening the door to projects that start innovating from the very essence of these places. To defend and promote artesanal trades, research, creativity and daring, experimentation and innovation, in short, the anchoring of people, projects and investment, based on these principles represents the proposals of the Aldeias do Xisto.
An agenda for the whole family, all year round
The Aldeias do Xisto are a cultural heritage made of stones and people, a combined work between man and nature where we can return to being deeply human, where it is still possible to imagine a future that exchanges egocentrism for ecocentrism. In our events calendar, there are experiences for everyone throughout the year, with the same common denominator: bringing people together and uniting different worldviews, creating bridges between ancestry and modernity, and stimulating challenge, immersion, and genuine contact. In short, allowing the truly human dimensions of being to come to the fore and reconnecting with ourselves through all senses and emotions.
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Aldeias do Xisto
The Aldeias do Xisto Network is made up of 27 villages in the interior of the Central Region of Portugal and is a sustainable development project which encompasses the entire region, led by ADXTUR – Schist Villages Tourism Development Agency. ADXTUR's mission is to generate interest in the region, stimulating sustainable, inclusive and shared social and economic development. The Aldeias do Xisto are a brand destination that, over the past few years, have managed to establish a unique enclave within the Central Region, and in the country as a whole, based on tourism, innovation and intuition – a place to live, invest and create.
The Aldeias do Xisto have been enhancing Portugal’s external image by promoting goods and services produced in the country’s interior and asserting an eminently rural identity. Through a coherent and consistent communication effort, ADXTUR has created a kind of new collective identity for the villages—positive, forward-looking, and innovative. Using tourism as the main sector for realizing a shared vision, it is also important to act in related areas to qualify the offer of goods and services, notably in forestry, local products, manufacturing industries, mobility, and social action.