Discovering Alentejo and the Azores

By Tim Johnson

Alentejo makes up a full third of the country’s territory, but is often overlooked by travellers, who usually flock to places like Porto and the Douro Valley or the sundappled Algarve.

Or similarly, the volcanic Azores, nine islands off the coast, a semi-autonomous territory bobbing in the middle of the Atlantic. Whether you choose to explore by land, or sea, both are home to some of the country’s best food, wine, culture, history and fresh experiences. Here’s where you can discover them.

ALENTEJO

By far the largest of Portugal’s seven regions, Alentejo (which means “beyond the Targus River,”) covers the southcentral part of the country, with a long, jagged stretch off Atlantic coastline on one side, and arid borderlands paralleling the Spanish frontier on the other. Much of its history relates to the latter – the first redoubt against a much larger and stronger Spanish empire, this legacy of conflict has left behind a series of lovely fortified towns, places where you can now hike to a castle and survey the countryside for miles in all directions. And it’s a great place for a drive, too. Many of the main attractions are just a couple hours (or less) outside Lisbon – rolling through hills and vineyards, and the next surprising village just around the bend.

MERTOLA'S ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS ALONG THE BANKS OF THE GUADIANA RIVER IN ALENTJEO

EVORA

Evora, the capital and largest city in the region, is girded by a second-century Roman wall and capped by a first-century Corinthian temple, which everyone calls the Temple of Diana – despite the fact that it was never dedicated to the goddess. Leave plenty of time for the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral, which dates to 1165, where you can climb to the roof and survey the whole town. Inside, find a rare statue of a pregnant Madonna (most were destroyed during the Inquisition, but parishioners hid this one away in the walls) and the altar made from solid pink marble, one of the town’s most distinctive natural resources. The other – cork – is sold in shops lining the nearby “street of temptations.” Here, you can pick up almost anything made from this hardy material – hats, shoes, purses, or even a bikini.

GARDEN OF DIANA AT DAWN, EVORA

And, the bones. Inside the Saint Francis Church, the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of the Bones) is walled with about 5,000 corpses – skulls, legs, arms – unearthed and brought a place for the Franciscans to contemplate the temporal nature of life, and it remains a bizarre and fascinating place to visit. Take a break at Café Alentejocin in the heart of town for regional food. Order oxtail stew, the hearty house specialty.

MONSARAZ

The hilltop fortress overlooks Europe’s largest manmade lake and the Spanish border. Rolling up to this small, cobblestoned town feels like a trip into the clouds. It was the first line of defense against numerous invaders, and long occupied by the Moors, who left their distinctive mark on the culture and architecture. Visit for the castle and climb up to the watchtowers and feel like a knight. Hang around for the views, which stretch in all directions, perhaps enjoyed with a local beer and a little bifanas (fried pork steak) at one of the cafés overlooking the countryside.

HISTORICAL VILLAGE OF MONSARAZ, ALENTEJO

WINE

Home to hundreds of vineyards, wineries in Alentejo take advantage of super-hot summers and limestone-andgranite soil to produce some of Portugal’s favourite wines. Known mostly for big, fruit-forward reds, the region also has whites and balanced reds. And you can taste them all, Route, where you can hop from adega to adega. Make sure here from surrounding cemeteries in the 17th century. It was from Roupeiro to Touriga Nacional, along the Alentejo Wine to set your GPS and stop at Ervideira, whose most distinctive wine, Conde D’Ervideira, is aged in oak barrels and then submerged for eight months in a lake. “They always found that wines on shipwrecks had a different taste,” explains the owner. “So, we thought we’d try it.” It’s good.)

ALENTEGO WINE ROUTE

COMPORTA

A place where a sugary band of white sand stretches to the horizon, this upscale beach town is a sort of Hamptons for Lisboans. (It’s just south of the capital.) Bypassed by sunseeking Brits, it has a locals-only feel, and the vast majority of visitors are Portuguese. Rent a villa on the beach, or bed down in one of the town’s upscale hotels.

THE AZORES

Bubbling with volcanic energy, with coastlines girded by plunging sea cliffs and black-sand beaches (and interiors so green, they stretch the imagination and the colour spectrum), each of the nine islands has its own distinctive feel and personality. Located roughly one-third of the way across the Atlantic (closer to Europe than North America), this archipelago served as a way station for explorers sailing to and from the New World, from Christopher Columbus to Vasco de Gama, for centuries.

Settled in the 15th century, the towns and cities here feel a lot like Portugal – cobblestone streets, castles and cathedrals. But once you roll into the countryside, you find yourself in a sort of Eden of the Atlantic. The geothermal dynamism combined with a subtropical climate produce an array of natural wonders (as well as very good wine, beef and fresh fish from the sea). With direct seasonal flights from Toronto to Sao Miguel and Terceira, most visitors focus on those two islands, although a few will venture to Pico, and will be richly rewarded for doing so.

SAO MIGUEL

Home to the archipelago’s largest city, this is the biggest and most populous island in the Azores. Ponta Delgada (not so large, with about 45,000 people) is an interesting place. The capital of this semi-autonomous territory has a 16th-century fort, a waterfront that’s easy to walk with a busy harbour, and city gates that appear on most of its postcards (and the island’s coat of arms). But things really start to pop once you get out of town.

SETE CIDADES, SAO MIGUEL

Roll up to Furnas, a couple hours’ drive into the centre of the island and the heart of the Sao Miguel’s geothermal activity. Stroll a boardwalk weaving between steaming mud pots and geysers. Then visit the Terra Nosta Gardens, 12 lush hectares, with fig trees that date back to the time of the dinosaurs, and hot springs pools where you can take a nice warm dip, any time of year. Make sure to try some cozido, at the next-door hotel, or a local restaurant – a satisfying stew cooked five to six hours in the soil.

TERCEIRA

In the Azores, people sometimes say they have eight islands and one amusement park. The third-largest island, and the third to be discovered (not surprising: its name means “third” in Portuguese), Terceira has plenty to keep you occupied. Head to the northern coast to stand along sea cliffs that drop dramatically straight to a roiling sea. Then dip your toe into the North Atlantic at Biscoitos, a series of black-rock natural swimming pools, calm and protected from the crashing surf.

At Algar do Carvao, descend hundreds of steps into an empty volcano (one of only two in the world – most collapse in on themselves), looking up from near the bottom to a blue sky, moss and ferns clinging to the side, through a cone that has erupted twice. At Gruta do Natal, you can walk through a lava tube, the flow of that molten rock still visible at the sides. Then head to Queijo Vaquinha, a working dairy farm where you can milk a cow, take a tour and taste the fruits of the labour of all those hardworking bovines at an on-site cheese factory and shop.

PICO

Capped by the highest mountain in Portugal, Pico is a little off-the-beaten track and profoundly rural. The shallow channel between the island and its nearby island neighbour (and rival), Faial, swims with sea life, including blue whales, the world’s largest mammal, which you can spot from a Zodiac boat. Those feeling energetic can rise early and hike to the peak, visible from almost anywhere on the island.

HIKE TO THE PEAK OF PICO

Afterward, reward yourself with a tour of its vineyards, and a tasting. UNESCO has recognized a 987-hectare swath of the island as an “extraordinarily beautiful man-made landscape.” The vines have grown here since the 15th century in small plots called currais, protected from the often-harsh elements with walls made from black, basaltic rock.