The waterway of Carrazedo is a channel about 1 km long that takes water from a small tributary of the Alombada stream to overlooking irrigation fields, not far from Carrazedo village. Within walking distance of a motorway and an industrial park, the stream of Alombada and the waterway of Carrazedo are a surprising oasis of wildlife. The path along the flow is grooved hardwood and invites for a walk guided by the sound of water, on hot summer days. The Alombada is a tributary of the Vouga river, born in Ladário mountain and on his way over 15 km, runs through an upper gap of 550 meters, which provides the strength needed to move watermills and fulling mills that can be visited walking the Trilho dos Moinhos (trail of the watermills – PR 9). Right next to the watermills, a small waterfall originates a natural pool of crystal clear water framed by a well preserved riparian gallery.
Moist woods, with gorse and dorset heath, form small hedges near waterways and water lines; the beautiful demoiselle and the golden ringed-dragonfly are typical of this river, while river cruisers dragonfly can occasionally be seen here. A well-constituted riparian gallery is habitat to species such as the tutsan, the columbine and the three bird toadflax. The camberwell beauty butterfly and the lesser purple emperor butterflies can be spotted here and in the deciduous forest with oak and sweet chestnut trees, the great spotted woodpecker and the fire salamander are indicators of forest maturity. In the waterfall and rapid waters we can see the white-throated dipper, small bird that lives in the mountain rivers.
The ancestral use of the Alombada stream is reflected in the numerou waterways, bridges, watermills and fulling mills that can be seen here. The waterways take water for irrigation and to move the rare watermills still at work. The three watermills path, just downstream of the waterfall, shows great ingenuity in the use of a single upstream waterway, right next to a ruined fulling mill. A little downstream if we take the Trilho dos Moinhos, we can admire another beautiful waterway, several mills and a bridge, witnesses of the times in which the man took his subsistence from the river.
