The village of Nodar, located right by the river Paiva, it is a beautiful village with schist houses that integrate perfectly into the surrounding landscape. In the left bank of the Paiva river, one at both sides of the village, the river access is done through ancient paths and lush green fields, allowing visitation of more than 2 km of river where succeed fast waters, backwaters, wells surrounded by high cliffs and sandy riverbanks. The Paiva, reputed as one of the least polluted rivers in Europe, offers here all its beauty to those who visit, with the gallery of riverside trees stubbornly following the running water, providing moments of tranquility and communion with the river.
The river Paiva was classified as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) of the 2000 Natura Network because of its exceptional biodiversity. To the famous trout Paiva, we join the eel, the portuguese nase and the barbel constituting a fish fauna of great ecological quality. The freshwater pearl mussel, rare species in Europe, connected to well-maintained rivers, have here some of its best populations.Along the river, the viperine water snake and the iberian emerald lizard can be seen on sunny days. The Paiva, part of the Douro basin has therefore thermophilic species such as the strawberry tree, the lote tree or the lesser water-plantains. The rare and protected river cruisers and orange-spotted emerald dragonflies are here whenever the river’s back waters provide more rushing wells.
The village of Nodar originates from the Neolithic settlements that took advantage of the fertility of the banks of the river Paiva and its rich ness in fish. Wedged between the Montemuro mountain and the Gralheira massive establishes a perfect symbiosis with the river that runs alongside. The origin of its name dates back to the beginning of the Romanization of the Peninsula, taking the name of the authority who occupied the village – Notarius –later to be called Nodar, in archaic Portuguese. Nodar today is the home of Binaural, cultural association that promotes the arts of sound and cultural programming in the rural context.
