Pedro or Pero da Covilhã was born in Covilhã, in Portugal, in the year 1460.

After spending a few years in Castille he returned to Portugal and started working for King John II . Who putted him in charge of diverse private missions, and finally, to use his knowledge of different languages, ordered him with Afonso de Paiva to discover the lands of Prestes João .

The expedition started at Santarém, the 7th of May of 1487, the first stage was Naples, from where they went, disguised as merchants, to Rhodes, and on to Alexandria. Here they incorporated the caravans of Fez, following journey to Adem .

After arranging the date of return, as well as meeting point in Cairo, they went separate ways, Afonso de Paiva was to commerce with India, and Covilhã disembarked on Cananoor , from there he went to Calicut and Goa, gathering information not only on the viability of the navigation to India as on the geographic localization of the main ports and the type of marketable merchandises, coming back later the Cairo he met Jose de Lamego , that together with rabbi Abraham de Beja , Portuguese Jews who were looking for him, he sent to the Portuguese monarch the result of its ascertainment on the fabulous wealth of the East.

It also knew of the death of Afonso de Paiva , that had deceased soon before in that city without being able to tell anyone what he had seen. Pero da Covilhã came back to Ormuz and from there he went directly to Abyssinia, fulfilling the orders that he received from King João II, by intermediary of another Portuguese Jew that the monarch ordered to meet him. There he was very welcomed by the Negus and remained there until his death.

Marrying there, he still lived there in 1515, when ambassador Rodrigo de Lima found him. This ambassador, fulfilled its mission, came back to Portugal, but it did not obtain authorization from the Negus to bring Pero da Covilhã.