Exploring the most rural Portugal: 6 destinations that you didn't know about and are very close

There are places made to explore with a tie. Places where sweat, shorts and a water bottle are out of place, where you expect to find a governess at every turn. Enclaves like those of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, which seem designed to be visited by people with five surnames. You only have one or two, but in this Portuguese natural wonder you will fit perfectly. Who told you that you are not an aristocrat?

It is true that you neither use the silver cutlery with the turbot nor do you worry about the fluctuations of the New York stock market nor do you have your tea served in the Blue Room. But, at the time of live an ecotourism experience, you look for excellence and comfort. That's why you have to come to Sintra-Cascais, a space where nature seems to have mastered protocol: it makes everything easy for you.

The enclave, full of lagoons, groves, cliffs and dunes, extends from the Sierra de Sintra, located 30 kilometers from Lisbon, to the cliffs of Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe. Once here you discover the reason why royalty, nobility, the bourgeoisie and the people choose this enclave declared a World Heritage Cultural Landscape.

Sintra Mountains

The climate is another of its attractions. The elegant temperature is one that allows you to wear your shirt rolled up, but without the collar unbuttoned. Sintra-Cascais, one of the most humid areas of Portugal, is the paradigm of environmental elegance. It is soft, ambiguous, slightly cool, shyly warm. Ideal to enjoy six routes:

1. Sintra Village

This city is located in the northeastern corner of the Natural Park. The journey is easy from Lisbon. You can do it on the optional excursion to the wonderful 12-day Spain & Lisbon Tour that leaves from Lisbon.

The historic center of Sintra is a good place to start your visit to the mountains. From there several trails emerge that will take you to the most emblematic points of the Park, such as the Moorish Castle, the Capuchos Convent or the Pena Park.

Castle of the Moors and Pena Palace in the background

The presence of man is more noticeable in the town than in other parts of the mountains, but it does not prevent numerous species of birds from residing that flutter through the mountains. gardens and groves of the city, like those of the Quinta da Regaleira.

Quinta da Regaleira

2. Pena Park

The name seems taken from a fado, but Pena Park will brighten your day. You can arrive directly by car or take a bus from the town of Sintra. If exercise is your thing, there are also routes that can be done on foot or by bicycle starting from the Sintra National Palace or from the Natural Park information center.

This park is actually an extensive garden that surrounds the Pena Palace, built in 1838 by Fernando II on an old convent of Hieronymite friars. The complex constitutes one of the most visited monuments in the Sierra de Sintra. The garden is a convention of botanical species from all over the world that also houses numerous animals.  

He lakes valley It is located in the northern area of the Pena Park, west of the hill on which the palace stands. In its 6 lakes, arranged from north to south, swans and gray herons coexist.

Valley of the Lakes in Pena Park

Don't miss the opportunity to discover another beautiful area of Portugal by bicycle, like this one route through the Ria Formosa.

3. Blue Lagoon

To get there, drive from Sintra along national 9 towards Cascais. Then take the road that leaves Linhó towards Malveira da Serra. The next stop is the Blue Lagoon. The option of the trails from Sintra is also recommended. During the journey, you will cross forest areas where you will find redwoods, yews and hollies, among other species.

Blue Lagoon © Gonçalo Almeida

This is one of the favorite places for visitors to have a snack. So, do what you see.

4. Peninha

The Peninha sanctuary is located at the highest point of the Sintra Mountains, which would not make the cut for the Himalayan selection: it is only 488 meters. It is accessed via the Malveira road after leaving the Capuchos convent on the left. The last 200 meters to the top are used to build legs.

Peninha Sanctuary

To the north of the sanctuary, there are huge rocks that in winter are frequented by small birds such as the Alpine accentor. On the slope, the vegetation is dominated by pines and cypresses.

The queen of the place is the Bonelli's eagle, which has no subjects: at the top of Peninha lives the only recorded pair of this bird of prey left in the Park.

Luckily, there are other parts of the country where there are more possibilities of spotting this splendid bird. You can do it, for example, on the border with Extremadura, enjoying a boat ride through the Tajo Internacional Natural Park.

5. Cabo da Roca

“Where the land ends and the sea begins.”

Cabo da Roca

Visitors who come to Cabo da Roca are greeted with this inscription engraved on a cross-shaped monument. There, the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park is abruptly cut off to give way to a 150 meter cliff high that the Portuguese of yesteryear considered the end of the world.

For you, it is another stop on the road that you can easily reach. It is just 20 kilometers from Sintra and 15 from Cascais.

The first thing you will see will be the famous lighthouse that governs the cape, and which today functions as tourist information office. As a curious note, there you can ask for a certificate proving that you have reached the ends of the earth.

But, above all, Cabo da Roca is a good place to see sea birds, highlighting the presence of the shag, several species of shearwaters and birds of prey such as the peregrine falcon, of which few specimens remain in the Park.

The sooty shearwater visits the coasts of Sintra in summer

Several trails start from the cape to explore the coastline on foot. Walking north along the cliff you will reach Praia Grande, where it is possible to see dinosaur footprints.

6. Satin Cape

On the coastal route to the south, very close to Cascais, you find Cape Raso.

Unlike Cabo da Roca, this rock formation has very little height above the sea. For that reason, it is almost devoid of trees and you can enjoy unbeatable views of the coast.

Thanks to the seabirds that inhabit it, the cape is a reference place for ornithologists. But also, with a bit of luck, it is even possible to see dolphins. Although you will surely have more luck if you decide to participate in a dolphin watching activity in the Algarve.

But ecotourism is not the only thing that can be done in this place. Lovers of water sports, especially surfers, gather at Cabo Raso to enjoy the size of the waves on Guincho beach, located a couple of kilometers to the north.

Guincho Beach

If you continue the road towards Cascais, you will reach Boca do Inferno, a strange landscape created by the collapse of a cave due to sea erosion.

The curious geography of Boca do Inferno

Since Sintra-Cascais is a fairy-tale Natural Park, the Cinderella one comes in handy. More than anything because Portugal is the beautiful sister to whom the others do not recognize the perfection of her features. This wonderful protected space makes it clear that geography has been more kind to this country than history.