Monsaraz Hike
This is an easy circular Hike and we can choose between three distances of 5 km (3.5 miles), 7 km (4.5 miles) or 10 km (6.5 miles).
We’ll start our hike in Monsaraz and walk down medieval paths called “Ladeiras”. Walled paths made of thousands of slate stones covered in lichens and protected from the sun by centuries-old olive trees. The medieval paths run for almost 100 Km around Monsaraz. We are doing the inventory, cleaning and studying the paths. We hope to create routes that can be used by everybody. On the outskirts of Monsaraz we’ll find the ruins of farms and various associated structures like apiary walls, orchards and olive groves. If we are lucky we’ll see some wild animals and for sure a lot of domestic ones. A world that today is abandoned but that makes our experience special. We’ll be walking all the way to the “Guadiana” River that is also the reservoir of the Alqueva Dam. If we're lucky we'll come across a flock of sheep that graze there. We’ll keep on walking along old smuggling routes from the old times. In Monsaraz and on the outskirts we have seventeen temples. One of these Temples was an Islamic Qubba where a Holy man called “Morabito” used to live. We will pass by a Temple dedicated to "Saint Lazarus", in the Middle Ages anyone with contagious diseases, such as leprosy, had to come and live here. We’ll also walk through a Medieval Temple built by the Knights Templar to protect a pilgrimage route. We’ll visit a 6000 years old Cromlech from the culture of Megalithism. This circle of stones was a huge astronomical year clock. The monument was relocated because of the rising waters of the reservoir. We’ll continue our hike crossing Medieval bridges and walking among centuries-old olive trees. At Aldeia do Telheiro we can visit an old Mill, for olive oil and flour, and a fountain from the 19th century. We’ll go up to Monsaraz by the medieval paths all the way to the medieval fortification. Walking in the old “Barbacã” we’ll storm the Castle through the main gate.
Arriving in Monsaraz we can do a Tour in the Village.
