Lapedo Valley, Rock shelter and prehistoric grave site in Santa Eufémia, Portugal.
Lapedo Valley is a gorge carved through limestone walls by the Sirol River over thousands of years, featuring multiple rock shelters and burial sites. An interpretation center at the Old Mill Shelter displays archaeological replicas and explains the significance of the discoveries made here.
The site was occupied from the Neolithic into the Bronze Age, but the most significant discovery dates to the later Stone Age. Excavation of a child skeleton from about 24,500 years ago suggests that different human groups lived in this region at the same time.
The valley served as a burial ground throughout prehistory, where different groups laid their dead to rest with ceremony and intention. These burial practices reveal that people at the time already followed established rituals and traditions for honoring the deceased.
The site is best explored on foot, as paths wind through the narrow gorge and rock formations reveal themselves from different angles. Wear sturdy shoes since the terrain is uneven and trails run along the river.
The site preserves one of the oldest plant communities of the Iberian Peninsula, with native oak species and Mediterranean flora that has grown there for millennia. This rare forest ecosystem makes the valley a place where humans and nature have been closely linked since ancient times.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
