Ponte da Barca is a paradise to be discovered for its history and culture, but also for its natural charms, the fact that it has half of the territory in the Peneda-Gerês National Park earned it the title of Natural Biosphere Reserve.
It owes its toponym to the "barca" that made the connection between the two banks of the Lima River, being the "bridge" built in the middle of the 14th century that will give it the name of S. João de Ponte da Barca (1450). Ponte da Barca has always been marked by a crossing of two roads connecting Santiago de Compostela, one in a north-south direction (crossing the river), the other in a west-south direction (along the river).
