Monsanto (Portugal) map, directions, attractions, sightseeing, interesting facts

Monsanto, Portugal

Holy Mountain

A glance at the three-dimensional map of the terrain is enough and everything becomes clear. Of course, I chose a tool that we all have at hand, which is Google Maps. I turned on the 3D view, turned the camera angle a little and everything became visible in the palm of your hand.

Holy Mountain or Mons Sanctus, Portugal
Source: Google Maps

It is flat everywhere and only one solid, 758-meter high hill overlooks the entire area. In an area inhabited by man (here since the Stone Age), such a distinctive and outstanding place was usually considered sacred. The Latin Sacred Mountain is exactly Mons Sanctus… doesn't it sound like Monsanto? Yes of course! This is exactly the origin of the city's name, taken from the mountain on which Monsanto was founded.

Long story… but not the most important one?

The Monsanto paradox is that despite a very long and interesting history, after visiting the town, it will not stay in our heads. History will be relegated to the second, or even the third, plan. Few will remember the presence of Romans, Visigoths or Arabs on this earth. Few will remember the conquest of Alfonso I the Conqueror and the Templars who built the castle on the top.
Perhaps someone visiting Monsanto on May 3 will check why that day women bring rag dolls (so-called maraphons) to the top of the mountain and clay jugs filled with flowers, which they then throw from the ruined walls of the castle ... (to make it easier, I will immediately write that it is celebrated in Monsanto, the feast of the Holy Cross, commemorating the 7-year siege of the Romans, after which the Romans had to leave alone anyway).
Perhaps someone will remember that the castle was not ruined by any war but ... carelessness. Someone was just not careful enough in the castle's ammunition depot, and there was an accidental explosion that blew the lock from the inside. Some time later, the work was completed by a rocky cliff, which collapsed along with fragments of buildings, and today we can admire a picturesque ruin here.

All these things, however, will be obscured by something else.

Monsanto was built between large round granite boulders

What everyone remembers after visiting Monsanto is its unique and unique buildings.
The slope of the hill (especially in its upper part) is dotted with gigantic granite oval rocks that look like monstrous pebbles. A small town arose among these rocks. You can often hear the opinion that the rocks perfectly fit into the architecture of the town, but in my opinion it is exactly the opposite. This town and its houses are part of what nature has created here. The houses hugged the huge boulders, forming a single body with them. Sometimes the boulder is one of the walls of the house. Sometimes a narrow gap between adjacent boulders, filled with cleverly fitted doors, acts as an entrance to the apartment.
There will also be a place where the free space between a few rocks has only been covered and turned into an apartment.
However, the greatest emotions are aroused by the buildings, where a monstrously heavy and huge boulder is used as ... a roof !!! Looking at this house, I immediately asked myself ... would I even fall asleep under a rock like this? Or would I have been wondering all night when he would finally hit me?

Monsanto, Portugal
There are also normal buildings in Monsanto 🙂

Where is Monsanto?

Monsanto is far from everything. 176 km from Porto, 258 km from Lisbon and 366 km from Madrid. So you need to spend some time and kilometers to visit the town, but it is worth doing.
The location of Monsanto on the map of Portugal is shown on the map below.

Location of Monsanto on the map of Portugal
source of the map background: Google Maps

Monsanto sightseeing

And here is a happy tourist ... He is standing and enjoying that it is so nice around
Monsanto, Portugal

While visiting Monsanto, it is rather difficult to get lost, but a glance at the illustrative map will be useful. I have prepared one and you will find it below.
The central part of Monsanto has several streets and it is worth wandering around them a bit.
Most of the visitors to Monsanto start their tour from the parking lot (when we were paid), which is located in the lower part of the town (I marked it on the map). The parking lot is not huge and can only accommodate a dozen cars, but when we were here in the summer there were no problems with parking.

Parking in Monsanto, GPS coordinates:
40°02’23.7″N 7°06’51.0″W
40.039924, -7.114158 - click and route

Simply put: go uphill while exploring. First you will pass through the old, residential part of the town, then the road will take you beyond the main part, up to the top, to the ruins of the castle.

Monsanto - map of attractions and sightseeing

Important attractions in Monsanto marked with numbers on the map are:
1. San Salvador Cross
2. Church of San Salvador
3. The Old Wine Cellar
4. tourist information
5. Pillory and Chapel of Mercy
6. The clock tower and the Church of Mercy
7. Cave
8. Guardian's House
9. Church of Santa Maria do Castelo
10. Governor's House
11. Sao Joao Chapel
12. Rock tombs and the Sao Miguel chapel (it was the center of the village in the XNUMXth century)

Downward view of Monsanto from the path towards the castle ruins
Rocks on top of a hill above Monsanto

On the way, you will pass some interesting viewpoints. It's worth taking a look everywhere, because sometimes the views can be surprising.
At the top, the tour ends and you have to go back down. It is possible to go back by a different path leading among the oval rock boulders, as in the photo below, or from number 12 the same path that we entered.

Clicking on the photo below will take you to the panoramic photo on Google Maps.

Part of the return path from the castle to the center of Monsanto, running between the rocks
In this photo we have a piglet's house, and under the leaf palap (if you look closely), the piglet itself is hiding in the shade, with a pink snout

Accommodation in Monsanto

In Monsanto you can find really beautiful and atmospheric accommodation. I highly recommend looking for something for yourself. Peace and quiet and the beauty of the place will surely leave you with beautiful memories.
I present some interesting accommodations below. Clicking on any of them will take you to the page where you will see more photos and details of the selected accommodation, but also other suggestions similar to these.

Casa de David - [click]

On The Rocks - [click]

Casa do Castello Monsanto - [click]

Portugal sightseeing plan

This entry is part of a complete one Portugal sightseeing plan - [click]. The guide contains plans, maps and descriptions of specific sightseeing routes.
To see all currently available descriptions of attractions in Portugal, click on the link: Continental Portugal - [click].

Safe car rental guide: Portugal - car rental without credit card, no deposit
5 / 5 - (35 votes)

Important to me!

Give the article a good rating (5 stars welcome 😀)!
It's free, a for me it is very important! The blog lives on visits and thus has a chance to develop. Please do it and ... thank you in advance!

If you like my guides, you will certainly find the one I created useful guide catalog - [click]. There you will find ready-made ideas for your next trips, descriptions of other tourist destinations and an alphabetical list of guides divided into countries, cities, islands and geographical regions.

I also post link to Facebook profile - [click]. Come in and press "Follow"then you will not miss new, inspiring posts.

Unless you prefer Instagram. I'm not a social media demon, but you can always count on something nice to look at on my instagram profile - [click]. The profile has just been created, so for now he is starving, due to the lack of followers. He is happy to receive any observer who feeds him with his love.

I make the content I create available free of charge with copyright, and the blog survives from advertising and affiliate cooperation. So, automatic ads will be displayed in the content of the articles, and some links are affiliate links. This has no effect on the final price of the service or product, but I may earn a commission for displaying ads or following certain links. I only recommend services and products that I find good and helpful. Since the beginning of the blog's existence, I have not published any sponsored article.

Some of the readers who found the information here very helpful, sometimes ask me how you can support the blog? I do not run fundraisers or support programs (type: patronite, zrzutka or "buy coffee"). The best way is to use links. It costs you nothing, and support for the blog is self-generating.

Pozdrawiam




Add a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *