The culture of a people is revealed in its traditions, the roots that link it to the land, where the paths are narrow or wide.
Each path has its story and uses, different, but always with the same aim:  to allow access to the water-mills or the vine terraces, created on the sides of hills and mountains.  The paths are the link to other people, they help enrich knowledge; for pilgrims, they are the link to other religious places, and they are the way to fairs and popular festivals.

St. Torcato is in a place with many water-mills and weirs on the River Selho and the Aveleira banks and its streams.  The countryside is natural, scenic and cultural, you can do sports, be adventurous and it has great value for the tourist.  This is not the only example in Guimarães, situated in the Ave Valley, for there are many places for tourists to enjoy many aspects of culture and leisure.

This walk is part of a network of pathways, which "Ecoturismo Montanha - Viva" has renovated and marked out according to the norms adopted by the Portuguese Camping Federation.  A network of short walks has been designed, interlinking the area of Guimarães.  The exact location of each walk depends on the local heritage, historical, cultural, ethnographic and scenic interest for the tourist.  The tourist who visits Guimarães should visit the valley of St. Torcato.

St. Torcato is a small village 6km from Guimarães with a vast historical and cultural heritage, where you can feel at one with the land, with man and the river, each linked with paths full of history that have been recuperated and preserved.

It is a valley of rural traditions and corn was introduced in the 16th century.  The water-mills played an important part in the development of the local economy.  The characteristic vines edge each of the fields and the river, which gives a harmonious view.  The scenery is beautiful, unique and different, only seen in this area of the Minho.

It is an area with strong religious faith and secular culture.  The cult of St. Torcato has a memorial fair on the first Sunday in July and there is a "Small Fair" on the 15th of May.  (Called the "Water Fair")

The town and its surroundings offers many curiosities, such as the granite Sanctuary, the local parks, the Sacred Art and Ethnographic museum, the Chapel of the Saint's Font, where St. Torcato was martyred in the year 715, when he tried to impede the advance of the Arab army led by General Tarik.  According to tradition, his body was discovered by a Benedictine monk, under a pile of stones, in the place where today you can visit the Chapel of the Saint's Font.

The monument with the most history is, undoubtedly the Old Church of St. Torcato, where for centuries the uncorrupted body of the Saint was kept.