Carvalhais is a village consisting of mainly new houses, an old quinta, and a few cottages. The walls around the village are all made from the round glacial boulders that can still be seen amongst the trees high on the hillside above the village. The original inhabitants of the village made their livelihood mainly from maize and olive agriculture. The fertile soil of the valley and the irrigation system that takes water from the river Ceira, along old channels, (many of which may date back over a thousand years), still provide the conditions for people to make their living from the land. The village is very close to Varzea Pequena, and the new bridge over the river, making it only a short walk into Vila Nova do Ceira.