Towns and Villages

The town is situated in the rugged, mountainous region of Barroso, where the famous barrosã breed of beef cattle are reared. The meat that they produce has long been appreciated as the food of kings and was recently awarded a certificate, thereby giving it the designation of a region of protected origin.

Boticas is also the home of the famous "Vinho dos Mortos" (Dead Man`s Wine), so called because after bottling it is buried beneath the ground and left to ferment in the dark for roughly a year, acquiring an excellent taste. This technique was discovered by sheer chance in the nineteenth century, at the time of the French invasions, when the local population hid their possessions and crops in the most unexpected places in order to avoid being pillaged. When the danger had passed and the wine was dug up, it was discovered that, after all, the wine now had an excellent quality.

The region's mineral water is also of the highest quality, with the "holy waters" from the spa of Carvalhelhos being particularly famous.