Rota dos Frades

In a parish with a distinctive landscape, this route aims to showcase all the geological, cultural, and landscape features found in this unique corner of the region. The name of this trail refers to the “Escola de Frades,” which once stood in the Serra de Santo António.
This route begins near the Bajouco (a natural depression in the rock where rainwater collects), follows a trail lined with dry-stone walls, rock outcrops, olive groves, and pastoral areas until it reaches the main road, where you can see a group of structures used to support agricultural activities, namely, threshing floors, olive pomace basins, and porches where ox-drawn carts and other farm tools were stored.
Heading north, we come across some of the mountain range’s oldest houses as we continue toward Casal. Climbing the mountains, we follow trails flanked by stone, where typical mountain vegetation is ever-present, and we find ruts left by the wheels of ox-drawn carts, which, for centuries, transported loads of stone from the region’s quarries. Upon arriving at Casal, we see a sinkhole that has been converted for agricultural use. Continuing the ascent, we now head toward the wells, a community structure built to ensure water for people and animals during the dry season, when this resource was scarce.
Climbing toward the “crutos,” we easily reach the highest point of the mountain range, where we can admire the Santo António Plateau, the Mira/Minde polje, the São Mamede Plateau, and the Serra de Aire. Once this excursion along the northern slope of the mountain range is complete, we head back south, where we resume the path to our starting point, descending one of the trails that allows us to get a closer look at the extensive work that people have left behind in this mountain range. Amid the stone walls, we spot small huts, stone shelters, and simple shelters, built through manual labor using only a trowel and a pickaxe.