Highlights of this trip
A hands-on journey in rewilding, restoration and local communities
What if your time in the wild could do more than give you a great experience?
In the Côa Valley, you can spend a week working alongside the people who are restoring this extraordinary landscape — helping nature return, supporting local communities and contributing to the recovery of areas affected by wildfire.
This is not a sightseeing trip with a volunteering activity added on. The work is the journey. But it is also a chance to slow down, enjoy the landscape and discover a part of rural Portugal that few visitors take the time to really experience.
For seven days, you’ll be based at the Rewilding Centre, spending your mornings and early afternoons working directly with the Rewilding Portugal team and local Wild Côa partners. The work changes with the season and the needs of the landscape: rebuilding rabbit shelters as part of the Iberian lynx project, removing invasive species, taking part in biodiversity surveys, collecting waste, restoring land affected by fire, planting native species, caring for animals, repairing irrigation systems and helping with local building and community projects.
You’ll be working alongside local people, getting your hands dirty, learning as you go and seeing the landscape from a completely different perspective.
And then, when the working day is done, the valley is yours to explore.
Depending on the day, you can cool off with a swim in the Côa, join a guided visit to a rewilding area, discover medieval villages, explore the valley’s extraordinary prehistoric rock art or simply sit down with a drink and watch the evening light over the hills. These late-afternoon activities are optional, so you can choose to join when you feel like exploring – or simply relax after a day outside.
WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING
- Two days with Rewilding Portugal, supporting practical conservation and rewilding work
- Help reconstruct rabbit shelters as part of efforts supporting the Iberian lynx
- Remove invasive species and help restore rewilding areas
- Take part in BioBlitzes and biodiversity monitoring
- Collect waste and help keep rewilding areas healthy
- Depending on the season, contribute to fire prevention and landscape management
- Spend three days with local Wild Côa partners, supporting projects that strengthen both nature and rural communities
- Help restore areas and infrastructure affected by recent wildfires
- Plant and care for native and restored landscapes
- Help repair irrigation systems and community buildings
- Work with animals, gardens, crops and aromatic plants
- Take part in seasonal activities such as sowing, harvesting, pruning or shearing
- Learn about traditional land management and the changing relationship between people and the Côa landscape
- Explore the Côa Valley in the late afternoons, with a choice of optional activities and excursions
OPTIONAL AFTERNOON EXPERIENCES
Your working days finish in the mid-afternoon, leaving time to discover more of the valley. These experiences are completely optional and can be booked separately. You might choose one, several, or none at all — there is no obligation to fill every afternoon.
Walk to or swim in the Côa
Sometimes the best afternoon activity is the simplest one.
From the Rewilding Centre, you can walk for around 30 minutes down to the Côa River, possibly even for a refreshing swim. Bring your towel, find a quiet spot by the water and cool off after a day of outdoor work.
Optional and free.
Vale Carapito & Vilar Maior
Join a guided visit to Vale Carapito, a beautiful rural rewilding landscape where traditional farming practices still shape the countryside.
With a nature guide, you’ll explore the relationship between farming, nature and rewilding before continuing to the atmospheric village of Vilar Maior. One of the region’s best-preserved medieval settlements, its ancient streets and hilltop setting offer a glimpse into the long human history of the Côa Valley.
A lovely option for an afternoon of landscape, nature and culture.
Optional activity – additional cost.
Ermo das Águias
Discover another rewilding area close to the Rewilding Centre and one of the most spectacular viewpoints in the valley: Ermo das Águias.
High above the river, the landscape opens out across the dramatic Côa canyon — a valley carved by the river over thousands of years.
A nature guide will introduce you to the geology, wildlife and plant life of this remarkable ecosystem and explain how rewilding is changing the landscape today.
Optional guided activity – additional cost.
The Côa Valley Rock Art
The Côa Valley is home to one of the largest open-air collections of prehistoric rock art in the world, with engravings dating back more than 20,000 years.
In the afternoon, follow the final stretch of the Côa as it approaches the Douro and visit some of the remarkable rock engraving sites. Expert guides bring the ancient images to life, revealing horses, aurochs, deer and other animals carved into the rock by people who lived here thousands of years ago.
It’s a fascinating way to experience the valley — and a powerful reminder that people and wildlife have shared this landscape for millennia.
Optional guided excursion – additional cost.
Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo
If you have your own rental car, you can also choose to make an evening of it.
Skip dinner at the Rewilding Centre and drive to Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, a historic hilltop town surrounded by the rural landscapes of the Côa Valley. Wander through the old streets and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the Rewilding Centre.
It’s a chance to experience a little more of everyday life in rural Portugal, rather than always eating and staying within the rewilding centre.
Optional – dinner and transport at your own cost.
Photogallery
what does this journey look like?
A different way to travel
This is an opportunity to spend real time in the Côa Valley, rather than simply passing through it.
You’ll meet the people working to keep its villages and landscapes alive, hear their stories and understand some of the challenges facing rural Portugal.
You’ll also get to know the rewilding story from the inside: what it takes to restore ecosystems, why species such as the Iberian lynx need a healthy landscape, and how conservation can work alongside the people who live and work here.
And because you are staying for a full week, you have time to experience the valley at a slower pace – to work, explore, swim, eat, talk, walk and simply enjoy being somewhere wild and beautiful.
You don’t need to be a conservation professional. You just need curiosity, a willingness to get stuck in and a reasonable level of fitness.
The exact activities will depend on the season, weather and what the landscape needs when you arrive.
Day 1: Arrive in the Côa Valley
Make your way to the Côa Valley and settle into the Rewilding Centre, your base for the week. If you arrive by train, we can arrange a transfer from Guarda; alternatively, you can come by rental car.
Meet your local hosts and the Rewilding Portugal team, get to know the area and learn what is happening across the Côa Valley – and what your week of work will look like.
Overnight: Rewilding Centre
Meals: Dinner included
Day 2: Rewilding in Action
Your first day in the field is spent with the Rewilding Portugal team, getting to know their work first-hand.
Depending on the season, you might be helping to restore rabbit shelters linked to the Iberian lynx project, removing invasive vegetation, collecting waste or joining a biodiversity monitoring session.
You’ll spend the day working alongside the local team, learning why these seemingly small practical interventions matter to the wider rewilding process.
Optional afternoon: Experience a guided visit to Ermo das Águias, the nearby rewilding area with one of the most dramatic viewpoints in the Côa Valley. Discover the geology, wildlife and plant life of the canyon and see the landscape you have been helping to restore from above.
Overnight: Rewilding Centre
Meals: Breakfast and dinner included; lunch in the field
Day 3: Restoring the Landscape
Today you continue working with Rewilding Portugal, with the exact focus shaped by the needs of the landscape and the season.
You might join a BioBlitz, helping record the plants, insects, birds and other species found in a restored area, or contribute to habitat management and fire-prevention work.
This is a chance to see rewilding up close – not as an abstract idea, but as practical, sometimes muddy and always collaborative work.
Optional afternoon & evening activity: Discover the Côa Valley rock engravings, one of the world’s most remarkable collections of open-air prehistoric art. Follow the river towards the Douro and visit several engraving sites with expert guides, learning about the animals and people who inhabited this landscape more than 20,000 years ago.
Overnight: Rewilding Centre
Meals: Breakfast and dinner included; lunch in the field
Day 4: Into the Local Community
Today the focus shifts from rewilding to the people who live and work in the Côa Valley.
Together with one of the local Wild Côa partners, you’ll spend the day helping with a practical community project. Depending on the season, this could mean planting, pruning and weeding, caring for animals, working in gardens or helping repair an old irrigation system.
Every project is different… and that is part of the experience.
Optional afternoon: Join a nature guide for a visit to Vale Carapito, where traditional farming practices still shape a beautiful rural rewilding landscape. Continue to Vilar Maior, one of the region’s best-preserved medieval villages, and discover its atmospheric streets and long history along the Côa.
Overnight: Rewilding Centre or local partner accommodation
Meals: Breakfast and dinner included; lunch in the field
Day 5: Rebuilding After Fire
The Côa Valley has experienced devastating wildfires, and today you’ll contribute to the long process of recovery.
Working with a local partner, you could help restore damaged sites, plant new vegetation, repair structures or support a community project affected by fire.
It is a day that brings the connection between conservation and local livelihoods into sharp focus, and shows just how much work goes into rebuilding a landscape after fire.
After a day of meaningful work, the late afternoon is free to unwind or explore. Enjoy a walk to the Côa River, (or even enjoy a swim!). It’s an easy 30 minute walk from the Rewilding Centre. Or simply relax, read, have a drink and enjoy the views.
Overnight: Rewilding Centre or local partner accommodation
Meals: Breakfast and dinner included; lunch in the field
Day 6: Life on the Land
Your final working day is about getting even closer to the people and traditions of the Côa Valley.
Depending on the season, you could be helping with animals, sowing or harvesting, caring for native plant gardens, working with aromatic herbs, repairing buildings or learning about beekeeping.
There is time to talk, share food and hear stories about life in these villages, and about the challenges of keeping rural communities connected to the land.
Optional evening: If you have a rental car, skip dinner at the Rewilding Centre and head to Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo. Explore the historic town, wander its old streets and have dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the centre.
Overnight: Rewilding Centre
Meals: Breakfast and dinner included; lunch in the field
Day 7: Leaving a Little Behind
After breakfast, there is time for a final walk or coffee at the Rewilding Centre before saying goodbye to the people you have worked alongside during the week.
You leave knowing that your contribution was part of something larger: practical work helping restore nature, strengthen local communities and build a more resilient future for the Côa Valley.
Meals: Breakfast included.
Please note:
This is an example of what your week could look like… but rewilding doesn’t follow a timetable. The work of Rewilding Portugal and the Wild Côa partners changes with the seasons, weather and what is needed in the landscape at that particular moment. The order and focus of the activities may therefore change.
You won’t simply arrive with a predetermined list of jobs. Instead, you’ll discover on the ground what needs doing and where you can make the biggest contribution. One day might mean getting your hands dirty restoring habitat, another could take you into a village to work alongside a local partner. The programme adapts to the landscape, and you become part of that process.
CONSERVATION AND GIVING BACK
Practical information
Dates & Availability
7 days / 6 nights
Weeks that are currently available:
- 16 till 22 November 2026
- 6 till 12 December 2026
- 1 till 7 March 2027
- 3 till 9 April 2027
- 19 till 25 April 2027
We deliberately plan these weeks in the shoulder seasons, so that the local teams have more time to spend with you. The work also changes with the seasons, so no week will be exactly the same. Costs (Included & Excluded)
Costs (Included & Excluded)
€495 per person (based on sharing a twin or triple). €50 single supplement per person, depending on availability.
Minimum 1, maximum 14 participants.
Included:
- 6 nights’ accommodation at the Rewilding Centre
- Breakfast each morning, from Day 2 till Day 7
- Dinner each evening, from Day 1 till Day 6
- All conservation and community activities throughout the week
- Guidance and support from the local Rewilding Portugal team and community partners
- Transport from Guarda to the Rewilding Centre at the beginning and end of the experience (if you need it)
- Transport to and from the different project sites during the week
- Use of bicycles at the Rewilding Centre, where available
- 10% contribution to Nature & People, supporting training, nature conservation, rewilding and local communities
Excluded:
- Optional private room supplement, if applicable
- Travel to and from Guarda, Portugal
- Lunches – these are prepared by participants themselves to take into the field, or can sometimes be arranged with local partners at an additional cost
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance
- Any of the optional afternoon or evening experiences. Approximate costs are €170-220 per small group for a half day with a guide, excluding picnic (€30-40 pp)
Logistics / Transport
You can travel by train to Guarda, with a transfer to the Côa Valley arranged for you, or arrive by rental car. During the week, Rewilding Portugal provides transport to and from the daily field sites as part of the programme.
Ask us for more information on logistics.
Accommodation
You are based in a comfortable room at the Rewilding Centre near Pinhel, with private rooms available or shared rooms for those who travel together.
Solo travellers are very welcome.
Food
Breakfast and dinner are included at the Rewilding Centre. Lunches are generally prepared by participants themselves to take into the field, although some local partners may sometimes provide a picnic lunch.
Dietary preferences can be accommodated with advance notice.
Health & Safety
A reasonable level of fitness and willingness to work outdoors is required. Activities vary according to the season and weather.
This is for you if…
You want to do more than visit a beautiful place. You want to understand it, contribute to it and meet the people working to shape its future.
You don’t need previous conservation experience. What you do need is an open mind, sturdy shoes, a willingness to work outdoors… and perhaps a tolerance for getting your hands a little dirty.
Come to the Côa Valley not just to see rewilding, but to be part of it.
Local team
Fernando Teixeira
Fernando was born close to the Greater Côa Valley region. After becoming a journalist and finishing his law degree, he returned to his origins to work in communication. Since 2019 he is working at Rewilding Portugal, currently as Head of Communication and Enterprise. Despite being a nature communication specialist, currently is also dedicating a bigger part of his role to promote a nature-based economy in the Greater Côa Valley.
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