The river Paivô is a heavenly place of breathtaking landscapes where nature shows all its beauty. The river Paivô, which some call river “Paivó”, born in the Arada mountains, flowing into the left bank of the river Paiva, downstream from the village of Paradinha. This is about 20 km, and has several springs located between Portal do Inferno (hell’s gate) and the village of Cabreiros, the very ridge of the Arada mountain. In the summer, the banks of this river are very popular with bathers, since it has transparent and fresh water, ideal for a good swim. On its banks we can also find traditional watermills to grind flour for bread. Right next to the village of Covelo de Paivó, a magnificent well waits for us right at the river bend. Further downstream, other wells motivate a more thorough visit to Paivô river, multiplying the natural pools and the Ponte de Telhe ponds. In this stretch of river, granite is the dominant rock, surprising the beauty of round pebbles on the riverbed and large blocks of smooth curves which balance on the cliffs along the river.
The river Paivô is an important wildlife refuge sheltering in its valley, a pack of iberian wolves who takes refuge in less humanized mountain regions to breed. The transparent waters is the perfect habitat for barbel, trout, portuguese nase and northern iberian chub, and even the elusive pyrenean desman thrives here; the white-throated dipper takes advantage of the numerous water falls and fast waters to hunt; the fire salamander and gold-striped salamander forage in the woods that line the river. Along the river, riparian vegetation includes black alder, ash, willow and herbaceous, such as tutsan and columbine. The green olive tree, here forming clumps, takes advantage of the most thermophilic places and comes to dominate at the mouth, while the scaly lipfern only occurs in slabs of the thermophilic southern slopes.
Covelo de Paivô is a village that preserves its rural essence with green pastures and cattle walking the streets in the evening. The beautiful parish church of St. Peter is a baroque temple built in the first half of the eighteenth century and being robably the reconstruction of an existing building. Here leaves a trail carved in the cliffs and accompanying Paivô river to the village of Regoufe. Large slabs that make the way are marked with deep ruts resulting from countless oxcarts that once used these roads.
