This route starts in Aljustrel, the mining village, where we suggest a visit to the mines that were explored since roman times, and afterwards – climbing the steepy slope up to the main church – the new Municipal Museum where you may find the exhibition "2000 Years of Mining in Aljustrel". Then we advise you to go to the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Castelo, from this beautiful little sactuary you'll have a view commanding all the village and the surrounding landscape, and behind it you'll find the ruins of the old arab castle.

From Aljustrel we move on to Messejana, an old municipality and one of the loveliest places in the region. Here it is worth roaming through the square and the streets with their whitewashed houses with typical blue stripes, visiting the Misericórdia church and the local ethnographic museum, and finally pass the main church on the way to the ruins of the castle, on top of a hill.

We go on to the municipality of Ourique where we must visit the Castro da Cola . This archaeological site, dating essentially from the islamic period, is near the Mira river and the beautiful chapel of Nossa Senhora da Cola where a traditional pilgrimage takes place in September. For those who are interested in the distant past of pre-history we suggest the archaeological circuit of Cola along which you'll find several remains from that time.

From Castro da Cola we drive to Almodôvar, but before that we must make a stop at Santa Clara-a-Nova on the edge of the Caldeirão hills. Here we are going to visit first the fortified settlement of Mesas do Castelinho, which was once occupied by the romans and arabs; in the village itself you can't miss the Ethnographic Museum and its exhibition of scenes and objects portraying the daily life of the village in the old times. In Almodôvar you have the opportunity to buy a good pair of hand-made boots, a colourful patchwork blanket or a pot of honey.

Finally we reach Castro Verde, a village well-known for its choirs, where it is indispensable a visit to the magnificent Basílica Real covered with 17^th c. tiles portraying the legendary battle of Ourique. Then you should go to the place where tradition says that the battle took place: the chapel of São Pedro das Cabeças. The next stop is at the tiny village of Lombador where the traditional wool blankets are still woven according to the old way.

If you have time and are a bird-lover then you should go to the environmental education centre of  Vale Gonçalinho to book a birdwatching tour that will show you all the endangered species that live here, including the Great Bustard.  

Courtesy of: Região de Turismo Planície Dourada