the alentejo nobody expected: woodland, cold and bats
It's the highest point in the Alentejo (1,025 metres at the São Mamede peak) and the region's only natural park. The Serra de São Mamede rises abruptly from the plain, in the far northeast of the Alentejo against the Spanish border, and creates above it a microclimate that exists nowhere else in the Alentejo. More rain, colder temperatures, and humidity that stays. The park covers 56,000 hectares across four councils (Portalegre, Castelo de Vide, Marvão and Arronches) and functions as a biological frontier: the north-facing slope is sub-Atlantic, with oak groves, chestnut trees and cherry trees; the south-facing slope is Mediterranean, with cork oaks, holm oaks and olive groves on steep hillsides supported by centuries-old dry stone walls.
The wildlife follows. The symbol is Bonelli's eagle, one of Portugal's rarest raptors (fewer than 140 pairs in the entire country), which nests in the quartzite cliffs. There are also griffon vultures, black vultures, eagle owls, short-toed eagles, and around 150 bird species recorded in the PNSSM Bird Atlas. Among mammals: wild boar, genets, European wildcats, deer in the northern area, otters along the waterways. But the species that gives the sierra its European reputation is the bat: in the old lead mine at Cova da Moura, in Portalegre, a breeding colony of around 20,000 Schreiber's bats lives there, one of the most important in Europe. The mine can't be visited, but the whole sierra is bat territory at dusk in summer.
The sierra is also a hydrographic crossroads: the rivers Sever and Xévora divide between the Tagus and Guadiana catchments, and there's water in abundance in places where the rest of the Alentejo has long since run dry. For a swim, the Praia Fluvial de Portagem, at the foot of the castelo de Marvão, is the best-known option. For views, the summit of Marvão and that of Castelo de Vide, in the neighbouring council, are the natural vantage points. The Museu Monográfico da Cidade Romana de Ammaia is inside the park, in the Aramenha floodplain.
Go in spring or autumn if you can. In April and May the sierra is covered in flowers (the rosa-albardeira, trumpet narcissus and Solomon's seal are endemic or rare species that have their habitat here). In October the cherry trees and chestnuts change colour. In July and August the surrounding plain burns with heat, but the sierra gives you a five to seven degree reprieve. In January it can snow at higher altitudes, which for an alentejano is an event.
worth knowing
- the sierra is crossed by car on the N246 and M1037; there are several marked trails, with maps at the Tourist Office in Portalegre, Castelo de Vide and Marvão
- the Cova da Moura bat colony can't be visited for conservation reasons; observation happens at dusk in open countryside
- the quartzite cliffs where Bonelli's eagle nests have restricted areas during the breeding season (February to June); follow the signs
- on the north slope, spring starts early (March/April with flowers); on the south slope, later
- there's no park entrance with a ticket booth; movement on public roads and paths is unrestricted
