Panoramas of Portugal: from the Tagus to the South

Portugal is shaped by the Tagus river that cuts the country in two. To the south, plains and sparse forest dominate the landscape. On the inland, population is currently scarce whilst traces of ancient peoples abound.

These pictures were taken with digital cameras featuring a special mode for panoramas.

Since the file size of each picture is above 200Kb, I added an intermediate size with approximately 50Kb to 100Kb.

For panoramas of other locations, see bottom of page.

Lapa dos Gaivões, Esperança, Arronches

Inside this cave (lapa), the visitor appreciates a rare display of pre-historical paintings in Portugal. Currently the site is on open air.

Paintings are monochrome in ochre and represent schematic lines from the late paleolithic. Approximated dating is from 2500-3000 BC.

Main square of Estremoz castle

The town of Estremoz was established in 1258 by King Afonso III. The ruler also determined the reinforcement of the castle walls that should encircle the whole town.

These policies - and expenses - were only possible once the campaigns against the Moors in the South were over and the King sought to consolidate his borders with Castile, encouraging settlers to move to border and remote areas, thus reinforcing regal power at the expense of the nobility.

The Palace of Estremoz castle- currently a Pousada de Portugal - is topped by a square tower dominating all the fortress area and surrounding fields; Denis - son of Afonso III - ordered the construction of the Palace to establish his court by the end of XIIIth century.

During the XVIIth century new ramparts were added, modifying the layout to a star-shaped fortress. This new layout was put to test during the wars Portugal fought to recover the independence from Spain

Costa de Caparica, Almada

View from the Capuchos Belvedere on a cloudy day that hides the north bank of the Tagus estuary.

The Belvedere, located on top of the ridge of Caparica, spans a panorama from Cabo Espichel to the South to Cascais (West) and Lisboa (North). On that day, though, our eyes were drawn towards the apartments of Caparica - a very popular beach - and the farmed fields just behind them.

Roman Ruins at São Cucufate, Vidigueira

Detail of the ruins of São Cucufate. This was a fertile region in Alentejo during the Roman occupation (I^st-IV^th century). At this location, an agrarian villa was established. The site was later used as a Christian church.

The IPPAR (National Heritage Institute) has as page on São Cucufate.

Alqueva Dam at Guadiana

Partial view of the dam wall and the hydroelectric power plant.

This dam is a long waited dream since the 1950s: create on the south of Alentejo - the draughtiest region in Portugal - an enormous dam to distribute water for irrigation. The dam was finally built on 2000 and the irrigation system is under development.

View of Portel

View of the town and Castle of Portel and the olive and cork fields around it.

Dawn at Oriola, Portel

On the Summer's solstice I enjoyed the magnificent show of dawn at the village of Oriola, near the Alvito dam. Life was still until the eastern skies became rose; then, birds started singing. A few minutes later, insects and amphibians greeted loudly the orange sun raising over the hills.

Dolmen in São Geraldo

This dolment is a portuguese National Monument and it is located by the National Road Nº 2, near São Geraldo, county of Montemor-o-Novo.

It features eight side stones, an entry corridor and the top stone is broken. On the foreground left, the entry of the corridor is visible.

Apart from the monument, this picture illustrates how dry is the Alentejo in early June.

For the visitors: if you're visiting monuments inside fenced areas - such as this one - make sure you close all the gates, since there is cattle wandering around..

Bridge over River Gilão, Tavira

I believe Tavira is one of the most beautiful towns in Algarve. This bridge links the two halves of the town, which was born on the banks of River Gilão during the roman occupation.

This bridge was also a dividing point in quarreling times and the defence and destiny of the Algarve was at stake over its slabs.

Train station at Vila Real de Santo António

End of line. After a long, slow trip, the train stops, in front of Spain, starting on the other end of River Guadiana.

This station has a typical plan of the portuguese 1930s portuguesa and is quite well maintained. It is worth waiting for a friend in the spacious and luminous wall, decorated with old and solid wood furniture.

Copyright

  I, João Gomes Mota, keep all the authorship and reproduction rights of my photos.

The copy and reproduction of these photographs is not authorised, although I can do very little to prevent it.

  In case you want a copy, contact me. Your courtesy will be rewarded wit a higher quality file, whenever possible. 

More panoramas

In addition to this page, there are three other panorama pages:

Panoramas of Lisboa

Lisbon (Lisboa) is the capital of Portugal, the city where I was born, where I live and the one I photograph the most. The city unfolds over multiple hills, offering high viewpoints, numerous belvederes and attractive slopes.

Panoramas from the Tagus to the North

The Tagus valley is defined by a chain of hills and mountains named Montejunto-Estrela; these mountains feature the typical relief North from Tagus: steeper slopes, thicker forests - especially pinewood - and denser population.

Panoramas from other countries

Some panoramas from Spain and Italy and references to other sites featuring panorama photos and software to create panoramas.