Castelo Rodrigo is located at an altitude of 820 metres. The towering village retains its medieval layout with a circular plaza surrounded by walls. The story goes that in 1209 the King of Leon, D. Alfonso IX, granted a charter to the area that he described as the “perfect district” of Castelo Rodrigo, and ordered the rebuilding of the destroyed walls to defend it from the Portuguese, who at the time were below the Côa.