Images
Trail in Vale Lourenco
Vale Lourenco
Winter Ploughing
Drosophyllum lusitanicum
Walking in Galegos
Thread-winged Lacewing
Old cork oak
Dining on the terrace
The Quinta entrance
The lounge
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Village/Town: Portalegre
Region: Alentejo
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2
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Main Activities - Botany
- General nature
- Hiking
- Many local activities
- Walking
other activities available
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The Quinta's four double bedrooms, three with twin beds, is ideal for groups of friends as well as families who want to visit São Mamede for country walking in the many routes nearby or exploring the Parque's natural, historic and cultural sites such as Portalegre and the dramatic medieval hilltop villages of Marvão and Castelo de Vide.
A peaceful retreat in the midst of this spectacular countryside set on the unique, private one hectare rural setting of olive terraces which lead down to the mountain stream called the Ribeira da Arronches which flows though Vale Lourenço. A truly unspoilt natural environment and an ideal holiday destination.
The São Mamede Natural Parque is an exceptional part of unspoilt Portugal, full of character and barely touched by tourism. With roman remains and many megalithic sites, cobbled lanes that wind through cork oak woods over panoramic rocky ridges with commanding views.
The Parque, much overlooked but easy to reach from the new Lisbon to Madrid highway, is a protected nature reserve of some 31000 hectares in the north eastern tip of Alentejo. 44km long, the parque was created in 1989 to protect wildlife and unusual plants and to preserve local traditional life.
Read about the Alentejo and you will learn about the rolling plains of grain and cork oak but no mention of the small mountain range of São Mamede which peaks at 1025m with imposing and robust quartzite ridges overlooking the vast plains of the Alentejo and Extremadura in Spain. This higher land comprises granite, quartzite and schist more characteristic of the Iberian plateau that covers the central and northern parts of Spain.
Here we have a convergence of the Mediterranean and Atlantic climates giving rise to a fascinating range of natural vegetation and wild life. Wild flowers are abundant in the spring and early summer marking the southern-most distribution of many Atlantic plant species and communities in this most important and most complex range of hills south of the Tagus.
The forest of cork oak, holm oak and olive trees covers large areas of the Serra. Sweet chestnut trees provide shade and ample nuts for animal life and the chestnuts are used in the traditional recipes of the area. Also vineyards for the Portalegre DOC wine.
Wild boar and deer still roam the park. Also Otter, Cabrera’s Vole, Badger, the Polecat, the Weasel, the Mongoose, the Genet, the Wild Cat, the Fox, and Rabbit. Iberian Lynx seen on rare occasions.
Reptiles and amphibians such as the Iberian frog and Iberian midwife toad (Alytus cisternasii ), an isolated population of water lizard (Lacerta schreiberi) and Bosca’s newt (Triturus boscai) make their homes in the Serra's many rivers and watering holes.
Kestrels, Bonellis eagle and Egyptian vultures are a common sight circling high overhead. Also Griffon vulture, sparrowhawk, the short-toed Eagle, the Black-shouldered Kite, the Red Kite and Montagu’s Harrier. The area supports more than half of the species of birds that breed in Portugal and is also home to the largest european colony of bats.
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Website: http://www.azenhadoramalho.com
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