Known the therapeutic properties of these waters since the time of the Romans, their exploitation for medicinal purposes only started at the beginning of the 20th century. These sulphurous waters with a high ph (9.3) present therapeutic specialized characteristics for skin, musculoskeletal, digestive, respiratory, and otorhinolaryngology diseases. The water collecting is carried out at about 40 degrees C between 40-60 meters deep, on Alva’s granite, on a vertical fault earth quake-tectonics guidance NNE-SSW. This failure coincides with the passage of the Paiva river, which facilitates the aquifer recharge and consequent sustainability of the Carvalhal spa.
Surrounded by farmland and forestry composed essentially by pine forests and oaks, we can observe the diversity of fauna and flora along the Carvalhal spa village. The eccentric hoopoe is common in agricultural fields and, in spite of difficult observation, also the great spotted woodpecker is present around the area, hearing the incessant beat of its nozzle on the trunks of trees. Concerning flora, is at the beginning of spring that the delicate angel’s tears flourish.
Carved on the rock, the graves of Soutelo are funeral structures that correspond to a period between the centuries VI-XII. These are two graves, one with headland in arc (belonging to an adult) and another, smaller oval in shape (a young). In the funeral rites of this historical period, the bodies were washed and then wrapped in a shroud and placed in graves that were closed, subsequently, with a slab or stones and earth.
