Penamacor
Penamacor, on the inner border, heart of Portugal at 700 meters of altitude next to the Natural Reserve of the Serra da Malcata.
It is 275 kilometers from Lisbon and 265 kilometers from Porto, Spain is only a few minutes away (15km).
Penamacor is a village where time does not pass us by. It is us who pass through time and use it to our beautiful pleasure.
In Penamacor, in a maximum radius of 50 km, or half an hour away, you can visit Monsanto, Idanha-a-Velha, Castelo Branco, Fundão, Covilhã, Serra da Estrela, Sortelha, Sabugal, Serra da Malcata and enter by land of Spain.
Discover the region
On a slope of a granite hill covered with vegetation, at about 700m altitude is a village of charms and wonders ready to be discovered, the village of Penamacor.
Upon entering the village we feel close to the union of the past with the present. Its narrow winding streets take us back to the medieval times in which the Templars took root.
Belonging to the district of Castelo Branco, it has about 8682 inhabitants and was once a strategic location to defend the Portuguese frontier, which led to the construction of a castle whose remains we can still see today.
Quiet, typically Portuguese and with beautiful churches Penamacor is a little known natural gem. It has a natural landscape and is also home to the Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve, home to wolves and otters in a wilderness area that stretches for 20kms2. This reserve is known to be home to the almost extinct Iberian lynx.
In the county of Penamacor you can visit several villages, with houses built in granite, where you can breathe calm and quiet.
It is a region of living customs and traditions where you can still find embroidery, linen lace and rag blankets.
The gastronomy is rich and creates mouth water for lovers of chamomiles, roasted kid and lamb, broiled kid, wild rabbit, cheeses and sausages. For the greediest rice is not lacking sweet or the cakes of eggs.
Visit and stroll through Penamacor. We suggest the following visits, with or without a guide):
- Torre de Menagem
- O pelourinho
- Museu Municipal
- O Convento de Santo António
- As Igrejas
- A Ermida do Santo Cristo
- As fontes (nomeadamente a do Frade) e chafarizes
- O povoado pré-histórico do Ramalhão
Penamacor History
The settlement is very old. Archeology gives us an account of human habitats dating back to the Neolithic Age, but it is from the end of the Iron Age that the history of this territory begins to be written. When the Romans arrived, they encountered strong resistance from the Portuguese tribes that live here, tenaciously opposing the powerful and well-equipped imperial legions for about a century.
After the fall of the empire, the Visigothic and Arab dominions followed, of which there are few vestiges. With the Christian reconquest, at the end of the century. XII, and in subsequent centuries, the defensive and religious structures that now constitute the bulk of the historical heritage of Penamacor arise.
(source, CM Penamacor)
Nature in Penamacor
The landscape diversity is well-known in the contrast between the north of green valleys and intensely forested hills, from where picturesque water courses descend, and the south, which opens to the plain of Castelo Branco, where the sobreiral dominates, with its characteristic ecosystems .
The Nature Reserve of Serra da Malcata, with about 16348 ha of protected area, two thirds of which are integrated in the municipality of Penamacor, offers lovers of nature full of life and charm, regardless of the season of the year to visit.
The Ribeira da Meimoa Dam and the Bazágueda Camping Park are two other pleasant places to visit and to stay.
