The region of Alto Tâmega and Barroso, constituted by the municipalities of Boticas, Chaves, Montalegre, Ribeira de Pena, Valpaços and Vila Pouca de Aguiar covers an area of approximately 2,922 km2 and registered, according to the 2021 Census data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), a resident population of 84,248 inhabitants, corresponding to 2.4% of the population of the northern region of Portugal.
This territory is one of the twenty-three national Intermunicipal Communities (CIM), bordering four other CIM – Cávado, Ave, Douro, and Terras de Trás-os-Montes – and to the North with Spain, which places the region in a privileged position with possibilities of promoting cross-border relations, especially with Orense.
The agricultural activity and agro-industry play a very important role in the economic panorama of this low density territory. The endogenous resources of outstanding quality constitute one of the differentiating factors of these municipalities, with endogenous products of recognized quality standing out, many of which are guaranteed by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), among which are meat, honey, olive oil, chestnuts, potatoes, folar, smoked products, and sausages, among others.
Tourism is another of the strategic issues of Alto Tâmega e Barroso, based on an offer of thermal tourism and tourism in rural areas (TER) that complements the natural beauty of the region, contextualized by large areas of natural interest and that give it a privileged framework in terms of biodiversity and landscape wealth.
Complementarily, the cultural heritage also presents a relevant role in the touristic, economic and social panorama of Alto Tâmega e Barroso. In this case, the national monuments of great touristic interest, distributed among the six municipalities, are worth mentioning, as well as diverse cultural manifestations such as handicrafts and ethnographic traditions.