Silver Coast Portugal

Parque dos Monges: for active monks (and everyone else)

Just outside Alcobaça is the Parque dos Monges (Monks Park). This is a very large park offering recreation, adventure and education.

There is an eco-aquarium “Mãe d’Água”, a convent farm, craft workshops, a themepark (where you can do some canoeing on the lake, mountainclimbing, archery, rope sliding), and much more.

www.parquedosmonges.com

Palace is baroque heart of Mafra

In Mafra you can visit the Palacio Nacional de Mafra, a beatiful palace and monastry. João V demanded the construction in the 18th century, the profits of gold- and diamond mines in Brazil financed the construction.

This vast complex is among the most sumptuous Baroque buildings in Portugal.

The palace is open to the public, although only by guided tours. The tour through the palace takes about one hour, and gives you a good impression of the palace, convent and basilica.

The highlight of the tour is the very impressive Rococo library: 88 m long, over 35,000 leather-bound volumes. Besides natural techniques of conservation for the books, such as the lack of space between the wall and the book (so it doesn't create humidity), there are also a few bats that inhabit this library eating any insect that could destroy this invaluable treasure!

Portuguese writer José Saramago wrote a novel about the construction of the monastry: Memorial do Convento (Memorial of a Convent).

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Outside you can walk around the Tapada Nacional de Mafra, the king’s former wildlife and game reserve. It is a unique nature reserve, over 800 hectares in size, completely enclosed by a wall.
The variety in flora and fauna is impressive.

www.tapadademafra.pt

Rugged landscape offers many hiking possibilities

In the inland of the Costa de Prata is the nature reserve Parque Natural das Serra de Aire e Candeeiros, one of 13 nature reserves in Portugal. It is located in the limestone hills of the Estremadura, it’s size is about 39,000 hectares.

In this nature reserve you can hike along several marked pathways, all with different lengths, duration and difficulties so everyone can enjoy a nice hike.
There are about 20 different routes. One of them is the Rota dos Moinhos which takes you to some old windmills, the Buraco Roto route takes you through a beautiful landscape including a waterfall.

Beautiful gardens with baroque structures

In Mafra you can visit the beautiful Cerco gardens. They offer a combination of baroque structures and wonderful gardens and water features. The wide paths give every visitor the opportunity to enjoy the gardens to the max.

www.cm-mafra.pt

Back from the Past

In February 2018 the Dino Parque is opened, a large park near Lourinhã where you can see many dinosaurs in full size.

www.dinoparque.pt

At Bairro (between Fátima and Torres Novas) you can see a trail (almost 150 meters long) of dinosaur footprints, called the Pedreira do Galinha. The footprints date back 175 million years. You can see all of the excavation from the footpath along the trail.

www.pegadasdedinossaurios.org
 

Dinosaur museum

In Lourinhã you can visit the Museu da Lourinhã, where you can see fossilised bones, footprints, eggs and even embryos from Jurassic dinosaurs.

www.museulourinha.org