portuguese wildlife, no urban zoo cage
It isn't a typical zoo. The focus here is Portuguese wildlife: Iberian wolves, wildcats, roe deer, foxes, wild boar. The animals that live (or used to live) on the mountain range right behind you.
The Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã sits up against the mountain range it takes its name from, and that isn't just scenery. The schist and oak-wood landscape that surrounds the park is the natural habitat of a large part of the animals you'll find inside it. There isn't much distance between the enclosure and the real world.
On top of the wildlife, there's an educational farm with domestic animals, a riding centre with horse and carriage rides, a maze, a rose garden and a vegetable plot. The programme holds up an entire day without trouble. There are also night visits, for anyone who wants to see how the place shifts once it gets dark.
Miranda do Corvo is less than 30 kilometres from Coimbra, leaning into the foot of the Lousã range, and this is a good excuse to head into the inland Beira Litoral for an afternoon.
what you'll find
- Iberian wolves and other native predators in wide enclosures
- an educational farm with pigs, sheep, goats, cattle and horses
- a riding centre with classes, horse rides and carriage rides
- night visits available (separate programme)
