Sintra-Cascais Natural Park

The park covers about 145 square kilometres from the Serra de Sintra to the Atlantic, and its interest is that three very different landscapes sit inside one boundary. The serra is a granite massif rising to 528 metres, cool and often fogbound - a microclimate that supports laurel, ferns and mosses at a latitude that should be dry, which is why the eighteenth and nineteenth-century estates planted it with exotics and why Pena, Monserrate and the Convento dos Capuchos are where they are. West of it the coast runs from Praia das Maçãs to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, in high cliffs and inaccessible beaches. South towards Guincho are dunes, pine and the migrating sand of the Cresmina system. Trails link all three, and the park is under real pressure from the visitor numbers Sintra now receives.

What you actually see

• The serra - a granite massif with its own fog-fed microclimate and forest.
• Cabo da Roca - the westernmost point of mainland Europe.
• The dunes - the Cresmina and Guincho sand systems in the south.
• The estates - Pena, Monserrate and Capuchos inside the park boundary.

When to go

April to October, though the serra is often fogged in any season. A day for a section, several to walk the trails. Weekdays outside July and August for the palaces.

Honest expectations

Sintra is severely overcrowded and traffic on the serra roads is often gridlocked - use trains and buses. Fog can hide everything on the heights. Coastal wind at Roca and Guincho is fierce. Beaches within the park are dangerous for swimming.

Nearby

Sintra town and its palaces are inland; Cascais and Guincho are south.