Rota prehistoric-Monsaraz
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 10.38 mi
- Elevation gain
- 643 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 643 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,084 ft
- TrailRank
-
33
5
- Min elevation
- 585 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 4 hours 11 minutes
- Time
- 5 hours 30 minutes
- Coordinates
- 2970
- Uploaded
- January 25, 2022
- Recorded
- January 2022
near Monsaraz, Évora (Portugal)
Viewed 331 times, downloaded 10 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Starting and finishing in the majestic city of hilltop castle of Monsaraz, this 13 Km long circular marked trail takes you down the medieval tracks from the castle to a typical flat Alentejo landscape. This region is very close to the Spanish border and gets extremely hot in the summer and walking this route is best done in the cooler months of the year as there’s no shade on route. It’s packed with Neolithic structures and this trail leads to some of the region’s best known. The trail is marked only by painted and often faded trail markers, which become less frequent towards the end of the hike.
The suggested route leads to the sleepy Convento da Orada and the first megalithic site - Cromeleque do Xerez. The trail then leads to a section on a rural road, passing the Roman bridge of Pêga. Leaving the road, you enter a more natural landscape and eventually the olive groves that give this walk its name. Menhir do Outeiro is on route and is a good place to take it all in. This section passes two wells that are freshly painted but not in use so don’t rely on topping up on route. When you get to Monte Saraz you have the chance to leave the marked trail and visit Portugal’s most ancient olive grove and the dolmens of Olival da Pêga. This place has a very special atmosphere; complimented by constant birdsong. Re-join the trail and find the Menhir of Belhoa. From there Monsaraz is in site and has the only steep climb back up to the castle.
The suggested route leads to the sleepy Convento da Orada and the first megalithic site - Cromeleque do Xerez. The trail then leads to a section on a rural road, passing the Roman bridge of Pêga. Leaving the road, you enter a more natural landscape and eventually the olive groves that give this walk its name. Menhir do Outeiro is on route and is a good place to take it all in. This section passes two wells that are freshly painted but not in use so don’t rely on topping up on route. When you get to Monte Saraz you have the chance to leave the marked trail and visit Portugal’s most ancient olive grove and the dolmens of Olival da Pêga. This place has a very special atmosphere; complimented by constant birdsong. Re-join the trail and find the Menhir of Belhoa. From there Monsaraz is in site and has the only steep climb back up to the castle.
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Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Moderate
We did this trail in mid-February with our dog. We all loved it. We took a picnic and ate in olive groves looking up at Monsaraz (before the steep climb back!).