Buçaco National Park

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A good starting point inside the park is the Palace Hotel do Buçaco, accessible by car through the Porta das Ameias, Porta da Serra or Porta da Rainha.

History

In the sixth C. the Benedictine monks of Lorvao established a hermitage in the forest on the eastern slopes of the Cruz Alta hill. In the 11th C. this passed into the hands of the Augustinian canons of Coimbra, who always strenuously upheld their claim to the area and maintained it with great care. In 1622 women were forbidden to enter the area. In 1628 a Carmelite convent was established in the forest and enclosed by the wall, with nine gates, which is still to be seen today. Here the monks planted an arboretum which quickly became famous and was continuously enriched by exotic species brought back by the Portuguese navigators from their worldwide voyaging. A papal decree of 1643 prohibited the feling or damaging of any of the trees. After the secularization of all religious houses in Portugal in 1834 the property passed to the crown.

Topography

The forest now contains some 400 native and 300 exotic species. Its special pride is its array of enormous cedars of Lebanon, and from Mexico, India and Africa; other outstanding specimens include mighty cypresses, ancient ginkgo trees, sequoias, araucarias and palms. Besides its trees the park is also well worth a visit for its grottoes, pools, fountainheads, chapels, hermitages, oratories and walks. The springs, carefully constructed by the monks, are particularly worth seeing. These include, north of the hotel, the Fonte Fria ("cold spring"), with a cascade of 144 steps descending to a basin surrounded by beautiful flowering shrubs and conifers, and the Fonte do Carregal, flowing out of a grotto, to the south of the hotel.