Cabo Espichel

Everyone who comes to Portugal has a “must visit places” list. And of course that is how it should be. I guess no matter what is the purpose of your vacation — surfing the Atlantic Ocean, hiking in Geres, tasting wines in Porto or just a couple of days for a mini break, I bet you have in the list these places: Sintra and all the wonderful palaces it offers, Cabo da Roca (because this is the crime — coming to Portugal and not visiting the most western part of continental Europe). I love these places sooooo much as well and I’m ready to spend every weekend in Sintra because there is something really magic about this tiny town. But today my story is not about these places.

I have discovered not that long ago another cape quite close to Lisbon — Cabo Espichel. Amazing, breath-taking place, where you cannot understand where the sea ends and sky begins. Fortunately Cabo Espichel met us with an amazing weather, wonderful sunset and a bit of warm rain.

You will ask me why you should come here if you have been already to Cabo da Roca, right? Well my answer is — lots of reasons. And they are: it is DIFFERENT, the views from its cliffs are way more impressive, this place is never crowded by tourists. Here, apart from wonderful views and amazing Atlantic air you can visit a sanctuary complex (Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Cabo Espichel) which was built extremely close to the edge of those cliffs. Some legends say that Holy Virgin was riding there a giant mule from the ocean and up the cliffs, so that was the reason for the construction of the convent at that location.

You can go inside the church which still works nowadays and enjoy its calm atmosphere.

And if you are here in the autumn — don’t forget to buy chestnuts, ok?