The asphalt road winds steeply down from the chapel of San Tiago, that stands on the top of the hill, and  into the village of Mestras. Many of the traditional houses here are built of xisto, some partly restored. In the centre is the chapel of San Padroeira da Boa Morte. There is also a wash house built from five huge stones, one for each wall and another for the roof, that were brought by ox-cart all the way from Vila Nova de Poiares. The old dirt road leads out of Mestras to Corterrador, along which the children once had to walk to go to school in the neighbouring village.

The river Mestras curves around the village. Two channels built of xisto provide for the irrigation of the terraces, one of which follows the valley down to Corterrador. People still come to fill their containers with the pure water of Mestras, just as they have always done.  In former times the terraces that surround the village were all cultivated, and the inhabitants made their living from what they grew, and from their goats and sheep. There is an old donkey stable in the village that has been converted into a house, and still bears the name.

There is a story that the village derives the name of “Mestras” from two master tailors that once lived here.

The “Comissão dos Amigos das Mestras” (Friends of Mestras) have made many improvements to the village in the past 3 years, having built a park and seating area with barbeque, and a “casa de convivio” (community centre), as well as installing a 30 thousand litre water tank, guaranteeing an inviting swimming place in the heat of the summer - and several other works in progress.

On the hill above the village are the stones of Mestras: petroglyphs, or rock art, carved into west-facing platforms of rock. Their exact age is not known, but they are at least 6000 years old.