Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Village
Since winning a competition in 1938 as the country's most 'Portuguese' village,
Monsanto has been largely shielded from modernisation. Several houses are surprisingly
grand, some sporting Manueline doorways and stone crests. Halfway to the castle you'll
come across the
gruta
, a snug cavern apparently once used as a drinking den; other caves
around town double as barns for the local sheep and goats. Startlingly enormous boulders
are perched precariously throughout, looking like detritus from a clash of the titans.
VILLAGE
Castelo
This formidable stone fortress seems almost to have grown out of the boulder-littered hill-
side that supports it. It's a beautiful site, windswept and populated by lizards and wild-
flowers. Immense vistas include Spain to the east and the Barragem da Idanha dam to the
southwest.
There was probably a fortress here even before the Romans arrived, but after Dom San-
cho I booted out the Moors in the 12th century it was beefed up. Dom Dinis refortified it,
but after centuries of attacks from across the border it finally fell into ruin.
Just below the castle stands what's left of the Romanesque
Capela de São Miguel
, with its
cluster of tombs carved into solid rock eerily lying just outside the chapel portal.
CASTLE
WORTH A TRIP
PENHA GARCIA
A good side trip from Monsanto takes you 14km north then east along the N239 towards the Spanish border to
Penha Garcia. It's a picturesque spot with a dam and lake behind it. From the church, a charming 3km circular
walking route, the Rota dos Fósseis, takes you past old mills and various fossil finds. You can also walk to Penha
Garcia along the GR-12 path from Monsanto.
Activities
Monsanto is crisscrossed by long-distance hiking trails, including the GR-12 from Lisbon
to Bulgaria, and the GR-22, a 540km circuit of Portugal's historic villages. For a beauti-
ful, relatively easy walk (one hour return), descend the GR-12 along the stone road to the
Capela de São Pedro de Vir- a-Corça
, a medieval chapel surrounded by giant boulders. You can
follow this same trail all the way to Idanha-a-Velha, a beautiful but exposed 7km walk
best in cooler weather.
