Vila Praia de Âncora

Vila Praia de Âncora is a lovely fishermen village, nearby Caminha, and one of the most famous in the Minho traditional region, in the North of Portugal, situated in the Atlantic Coast and on the river Âncora mouth.

Located in a place of great natural beauty, Vila Praia de Âncora presents several vestiges of ancient human occupancy since the Paleolithic Period, and many megalithic vestiges, like the Barroca Dolmen dated from the Neolithic Period. Quite important are the many vestiges from pre-historical Hill forts found in the settlement.
During the Roman occupancy period, this was an important village due to mineral extraction from the river Âncora.
Since early times, fishing was the main activities of the local populations, and nowadays industry is also having great developments, and Tourism is also gaining an extreme importance.

The Beach is the greatest highlight in the village, that also presents other interesting points, such as the Vila Praia de Âncora ou Lagarteira Fort dated from the 17th century, or the Cão Fort, built between 1699 and 1702, the Mother Church or the Calvário Chapel, and by many other interesting features.

The natural landscapes all around Vila Praia de Âncora are extremely beautiful, attracting a large number of visitors, mainly during summer time, appealed by the great beach conditions, the many accommodation units, the great restaurant variety and by the many leisure and sport activities.