Aqueduto da Amoreira

The Aqueduto da Amoreira carries water to Elvas across the plain on a long line of tall stone arches. Built over more than a century, it is one of the largest aqueducts in Portugal and, with the town’s fortifications, forms part of the World Heritage site listed by UNESCO.

Water for a border town

The aqueduct was begun in the sixteenth century and completed in the seventeenth, to supply a garrison town that often found itself under siege. Its arches cross the valley from the Amoreira spring to the town, and some of its pillars are hollow, with rooms inside that once housed the workers who maintained it.

What to see

• The arches, stretching across the valley towards the town.
• The Amoreira spring, where the water is collected.
• Views of the aqueduct from the road and from the town’s walls.
• The rest of the fortified town of Elvas, listed by UNESCO.

Visiting the aqueduct

The aqueduct runs from the Amoreira spring into Elvas, in the Alentejo. The arches can be seen from the surrounding roads; for guided visits or the water house, check with the municipality before your visit.

Visitor information: cm-elvas.pt.

Image credit: Aqueduto da Amoreira, Elvas, by Jacinto Júlio Nozes César, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.