ABOUT US
Our Story
When we first set foot in this valley in 2015, we saw not just wild land but a promise. Just three kilometers from here lies Tresminas, once home to the largest Roman gold mines in the Empire, where thousands of years ago men carved the hills to seek treasures hidden in stone. Their traces remain in tunnels, aqueducts, and legends—silent reminders that this land has long been a place of both labor and mystery.
The wider region of Trás-os-Montes is known as “the Enchanted Land”—a landscape shaped by myth and resilience, where mountains guard ancient stories, where people live close to the rhythm of earth and sky. It is a place where history, hardship, and beauty intermingle in ways that still feel almost otherworldly.
It was here, against this backdrop of deep time and enduring lore, that we began our own work. Over eight years, with determination and patience, we built Tinhela610—men carrying every stone, every beam, every solar panel by hand into the wilderness, guided by the same persistence that has always defined this land.
It wasn’t easy. Like many of our guests, we carried heavy burdens: stress, burnout, uncertainty, and the quiet ache of wondering can we make it?
We faced financial challenges and the weight of a global pandemic, all while building in a remote valley where nothing comes easily. Every beam of wood, every stone, every piece of material had to be carried by hand along a narrow shepherds’ path, more than 250 meters from road to site. It was back-breaking work, yet we pressed on—not because it was easy, but because the land had called us, and we could not turn away.
Tinhela610 exists today because of one simple truth: resilience is born of love—for each other, for nature, and for the dream of creating a place where people can return to themselves.
Our Philosophy
Our Mission
Tinhela610 exists to restore the bond between people and the natural world.
We created a sanctuary where guests can slow down, breathe deeply, and remember what it means to live in rhythm — with the seasons, with the river, with themselves.
Our mission is to offer more than rest: we offer renewal. Through intentional design, nourishing food, and space for reflection, we invite each person to rediscover strength, clarity, and presence.
This is not just a retreat — it is a quiet act of rewilding. Here, we honour tradition, tread lightly on the earth, and hold space for transformation, so that when you leave, you carry something of this valley with you — a deeper way of seeing and living.
Our Vision
We envision a world where retreating is not escape but remembrance — where people return to the wild not to consume it, but to learn from it. Tinhela610 seeks to be a living example of how humans and nature can coexist in harmony: fully off-grid, rooted in tradition, and guided by water as our teacher.
Our vision is to inspire others — guests, partners, and communities — to live more deliberately, with less haste and more reverence. By tending this land, by keeping its rivers clean and its stories alive, we aim to model a way of living that is sustainable, soulful, and deeply human.
In time, we hope that what begins here will ripple outward: more conscious choices, more meaningful connections, and a quiet movement toward inner and outer sustainability.
A Place to Breathe.
Our whimsical map to give you something to dream about for your visit to our "enchanted kingdom".
The origins of our name, Tinhela610
The Fibonacci Sequence — Where Nature Teaches Us to Begin Again
Our name, Tinhela610, holds the memory of this rustic and sacred land. Tinhela is the name of the river that runs along the perimeter of our land. The name of this place carries both geography and mystery. When we first stood on this land—quiet, raw, and embraced by the flow of the Tinhela River—we knew we had to find a name that honored both its visible beauty and its unseen rhythm. The early plans called it Matos dos Moinhos—The Mills in the Woods—after the old stone ruins scattered in the valley. A name of memory, rooted in place. But it didn’t quite capture what we felt pulsing here. One day, in a stack of sketches from our architect, Luís Rebelo de Andrade, we found a note. A simple line: “Tinhela 610m.” It marked the elevation of the river where it runs through the land. A practical annotation, yet it stopped us. The number—610—echoed somewhere deeper. We soon remembered why. 610 is part of the Fibonacci sequence, that timeless pattern found in ferns unfurling, shells spiraling, sunflowers blooming, galaxies expanding. A sequence that whispers of balance between order and wildness, logic and mystery. And suddenly, it made sense. Tinhela610 tied us to the river that nourishes this land, but also to the universal rhythm that sustains all living things. It was both local and cosmic, grounded and infinite. Since then, we’ve let Fibonacci guide our steps. Our fire circle spirals outward in his curve. Our cabins are numbered in the sequence: 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377—a rhythm for those who notice. As Thoreau once said, “The world is but a canvas to our imagination.” For us, Tinhela610 is more than a name—it is a way of seeing. A reminder that every stone, every tree, every current of water is part of a greater