Centro de Valorização do Burro de Miranda (AEPGA)

The burro de Miranda (Miranda donkey) is a big, gentle donkey with a thick, long brown coat that turns white around the muzzle and eyes. It comes from the Planalto Mirandês, the high plateau in the far north-east corner of Portugal, where for centuries farming families relied on donkeys to carry, plough and travel. AEPGA, the association that protects the breed, describes them as faithful and tireless companions.

At the Centro de Valorização do Burro de Miranda (CVBM) in the village of Atenor, about 60 of these donkeys live together. A guided visit lasts about an hour. The guide explains how the donkeys spend their day, how they behave, how long they live and what they can do, and adapts the talk to the people in the group, so a young child’s questions about ears and hay get as much time as an older child’s about genetics.

For children used to zoos, the appeal is the scale. There are no crowds or glass, just a herd of shaggy donkeys, their stables and the fields of the plateau.

AEPGA stands for Associação para o Estudo e Proteção do Gado Asinino, the association for the study and protection of donkeys. It was founded in 2001, when the Miranda donkey was in trouble. A census in 2002 counted about 930 females and only 20 breeding males, and more than half of the females were not having foals. Under the criteria of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, that made it an endangered breed.

The same year, on 20 June 2002, Portugal’s Ministry of Agriculture approved the official breed standard and the stud book, following research by the Douro Internacional Natural Park. Since then AEPGA has worked to breed, protect and find new jobs for the donkey. The Atenor centre is at the heart of that work: AEPGA calls it the donkeys’ maternity ward, school, playground and meeting point.

The centre began as a stone building with about 20 donkeys and has been rebuilt several times to improve the animals’ welfare. Today there is a large shed designed to make mucking out easier, a training arena where young donkeys are trained to be handled, and a small stable for the breeding stallion. The manure goes to a composting area and comes back as fertiliser for the oats the donkeys eat, which is a neat bit of farm recycling to point out to children. Wooden fences divide the fields into zones but still let wild animals pass through.

Members, sponsors, patrons and volunteers paid for much of it, with money and with their own labour.

The Apadrinha um Burro (sponsor a donkey) scheme has run since 2005. When we checked, it cost €30 a year and 12 donkeys were available, with names such as Bulhaca, Dulcineia, Gorongosa, Lavanda and Urze, and one called Atenor after the village. Sponsors receive a certificate, a photo of their donkey, a postcard and the newsletter, and they can visit their donkey at Atenor for free with a guided tour. It makes a good present for a far-away donkey fan, and a reason to come back.

Visits must be booked at least a day in advance, because the centre can only take a limited number of people. Email reservas@aepga.pt or phone one of the numbers in the planning box, giving the date and time you want, how many people are coming and a contact name.

From April to October, visits run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10:00 and 16:30. From November to March they are at 10:30 and 15:00. In July, August and on long weekends there are Sunday visits at the same times. The centre closes from 24 to 26 December, on 31 December and 1 January, at Easter and when AEPGA is running its own events.

When we checked, entry cost €7.50 per person. Children aged six and under, AEPGA members and sponsors go free. Students and scouts in a school group paid €3.50, and groups of 25 or more €5 each.

Visits are in Portuguese, and may be adapted into Spanish or English depending on who is in the group, so mention it when you book if you need English. Everything is outdoors and on a working farm, so wear shoes that can get dirty and dress for the weather. From April to October the visits are early and late in the day, away from the midday heat.

AEPGA runs a second centre in São Joanico, in the neighbouring municipality of Vimioso, with stable visits, workshops and three-hour donkey walks where young children can ride. If you have a whole weekend in the area, you could do the Atenor visit one day and a walk the next. Trás-os-Montes also has some of Portugal’s most unusual winter festivals, such as the masked Festa dos Rapazes and the Entrudo Chocalheiro, listed on our What’s on page.

Can you visit without booking?

No. Booking at least a day ahead is required, by email or phone.

Is it free for children?

Children aged six and under go free. Everyone else pays €7.50, unless they are AEPGA members or donkey sponsors.

Can children ride the donkeys here?

The Atenor visit is a guided tour of the herd. Donkey walks, where children aged 4 to 8 may ride, start from AEPGA’s other centre at São Joanico.

How long does the visit take?

About an hour with a guide.

Is it good for toddlers?

Under-sevens go free and the visit is short and outdoors, so it works well with small children, as long as they are happy on a farm. Bring a carrier if the ground is muddy.