To see a google map of the Monsaraz area click here, please note however that the map is so out of date it does not show the Alqueva reservoir.

I had been close to Monsaraz in 2001 when I went on a 3 day camping trip with my motorbike (see article number 15 of 'Travel'). I promised myself that I would come back and in April 2008 I did exactly that ......

 
We left Olhos de Agua at about 11 am traveling up the old Lisbon road (IC1) until just north of Ourique where we turned north east onto the IP2 for Beja and on to Portel where we stopped for lunch, the photograph to the below and to the right is of Portel castle taken from just outside the restaurant.

After lunch we decided to be a bit more adventurous and take a shorter route than the main road and use the very narrow road to São Marcos do Campo which involved crossing part of the Alqueva reservoir over two beautiful new bridges. The reservoir was completed about 2004, it is the largest in western Europe involving a hydro-electric scheme and irrigation for 1,100 square kilometers of the Alentejo, the driest part of Portugal. Once across the reservoir we rode through countryside literally covered with a carpet of purple, red and yellow wild flowers.

The next town that we went through was Reguengos de Monsaraz where we stopped to take a photograph of the bullring shown to the left which now appears to have been taken over by a community of Gypsies. Then 17 kilometers to Monsaraz known locally as 'The Eagles Nest' sitting on top of a hill overlooking the Guadiana river.

Monsaraz was originally a prehistoric hill settlement chosen for its natural defensive position, then both the Romans and the Visigoths had a fortress here, the existing walled town and castle were built by the Moors and then taken from them by the Portuguese in 1167 and handed over to the Knights Templar, its fortifications were much improved by King Dinis in the 13th century and then when the Templar order was dissolved in 1314 it was passed on to The Order of Christ. Now the 150 inhabitants take great pride in maintaining the towns medieval character and ambiance by not allowing any traffic within the towns walls and preserving the original architecture. The streets are narrow with either white painted or plain stone houses, with terracotta tiled roofs and streets made of paved slate. Many first floor windows have attractive small wrought iron balconies. Doors are all of wooden construction using cork oak and most windows have cork oak shutters.

Being so close to the border Monsaraz suffered many attacks from the invading Spanish throughout several centuries. It was sacked in 1381 by the Earl of Cambridge when his proposed marriage to the daughter of Dom Fernando I was annulled and as a result he unleashed his anger on the town. His manner of gaining easy entry into the almost unassailable castle can be suspected as having pretended to still having enjoyed the favours of the Portuguese King. Later, in 1385 Don Juan of Austria with Spanish forces seized the castle in a surprise attack.

We stayed in an hotel called Horta da Moura (Tel: 266550100), situated just outside the town to the south. There we met an English couple there who said that they fly to Lisbon every year in April, hire a car and drive to Monsaraz entirely to see the wonderful wild flowers, having seen the countryside covered in wild flowers often to the horizon that day, we could understand their enthusiasm for this annual pilgrimage. 

We asked at the hotels reception desk for advice as to where we could have dinner and we were told that the hotel had an excellent restaurant or we could go to a restaurant situated in an old olive pressing factory about two kilometers to the north. We decided on the second option and went to Sem Fim in the small village of Telheiro (Tel: 962653711) Web Site: www.sem-fim.com The restaurant still has its olive presses in their original positions and the tables are placed between all this fascinating machinery. The food was excellent and typical of that part of the Alentejo.

The next morning we went back up into the town to see it again and to admire the wonderful view of the surrounding country, the Guadiana river, the Alqueva reservoir and Spain beyond is all quite breathtaking. On the western side of the town is the castle keep, which is now occasionally used as a bullring, with a tower above it known as 'The Witches Tower'.

In the surrounding countryside there are more than 150 standing stones dating back to 2000 – 4000 BC. The Menhir of Outeiro being the largest at 18 feet high.

We left Monsaraz at about midday crossing yet another beautiful new bridge over the reservoir. After just four kilometers we stopped at the small town of Maurão and took a photograph of the 14th Century castle overlooking the River Guadiana.
Further to the south we passed through the town of Moura, a name said to have been given to it in memory of the beautiful daughter of a the Moorish governor who threw herself from the tower of the castle after learning her lover had been killed in battle. A siege in 1657 destroyed most of the castle and what was left was virtually blown up by the Spanish in 1707. The church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo that is located near the castle was founded in 1251 as the first Carmelite Convent in Portugal.

Continuing south once again we were riding through countryside literally carpeted with the most beautiful wild flowers passing a lake on our left we came into Vila Nova de São Bento where we stopped for lunch.

On again we traveled west towards Beja crossing over the Guadiana and a disused railway bridge then turned left to cut across country to join the IP2 south of Beja arriving back at Olhos de Agua in the Algarve late in the afternoon.