Sintra: SNT PR9 - Rota das Aldeias - Route of Villages: São João das Lampas - Assafora Loop

A newly signposted "official" route (at January 2022) which has changed significantly from older route maps. This means there are likely many older routes that follows the old path. This path follows the new markings. Note that there is one turn towards the end where it gets quite confusing (close to a water treatment plant).

The walk starts in the town of São João das Lampas, close to the village Gazebo. It quickly takes you out onto some barren hills, going past a nice typical windmill. With the sea viewable in the distance, the route goes north until we come across a genuinely interesting archeological site. which is a Roman road with much of the stone work intact. Further down there is also a bridge which was also initially there since the Roman times. Very interesting and would likely generate a lot more interest from tourists if was more accessible. Count yourself lucky that you'll be able to see remote things like this which is literally off the beaten path.

After this you start going through some small villages, as the name of the official walk suggests. It should be mentioned that the sheer amount of dogs in these villages can make the barking levels quite extreme at times. I mostly find it quite comical to be barked at by about 20 dogs in unison as they are usually locked inside their respective walls, but I can definitely understand people getting uncomfortable at this. On this particular walk I did not have any situation with a loose dog (which happens sometimes), only a LOT of noise in the villages.

The route circles the slightly larger dwelling of Assafora and turns back south again. The route is almost always either in a village or just outside one. Eventually I found a nice spot to rest and eat (see the "Picnic" spot) which wasn't in anybody's back yard and had a nice bit of shade.

Note that the last intersections documented here might not have been the exact route intended. I THINK the route was supposed to go right next to the water treatment plant but I thought that it was not allowed to walk so close to it, so I chose a route next to a little stream instead that worked well. This slight difference might have made the only strenuous part of the walk appear as a rather steep climb after the walk next to the stream.

After this it is an easy stroll back to where you started.

In summary this village walk is quite nice but gets coloured heavily by the cacophony of huge amounts of barking dogs. The highlight is definitely the Roman road and bridge, which felt like a hidden gem.