The best road cycling routes around Abrã

A peaceful spot for a picnic, with several mountain bike trails nearby, as well as paved roads. A good starting point for some walks.

Gorgeous views! The climb to Alqueidão da Serra is tough for beginners.

Salt is extracted from shallow, concrete or stone pans of varying sizes, where saltwater drawn from a well is conveyed through ditches. Currently, the water is pumped by a motor and distributed according to a system that is generally accepted and respected (not always) by all the owners. Drainpipes, threshing floors, and wooden salt storage houses complete the complex known as the Rio Maior Salt Pans. According to technicians, a large and deep rock salt mine, traversed by an underground stream that feeds a well, makes the extracted water salty, seven times saltier than seawater. The salt is obtained from its exposure to the sun and wind, and the resulting evaporation of the water. This salt is deposited at the bottom of the pans, which are then piled up in pyramid-shaped heaps to dry until harvest. The process is rudimentary and similar to that used in seaside salt mines. The only difference is the picturesque valley that surrounds them, the well, the unique style of the sailors (as the men who work in the salt mines are known), the wooden houses and the country air that you breathe.

In the village of Casais Robustas, along the road to Fatima, there's a very nice café filled with trophies from the pilgrims—flags, shirts, and other items. The staff is very friendly to the pilgrims.

Malhou owes its name to the rhythmic sound of hammers and the shine of forges: in times past, this parish was famous for the talent of its blacksmiths, masters in the art of shaping iron with skill and strength. It was this craft that marked the identity of the land and gave it its name.

In Fonte da Bica, the old school and the fountain that gives it its name mark the landscape. As you cross the village, you will be greeted by views of the salt pans and the typhonic valley, carved over millennia by the erosion of the salt deposited there since the Jurassic period.

Just three kilometres from Rio Maior, on the southern tip of the Serra dos Candeeiros, lie the only inland salt pans in Portugal, and the only ones still active in the whole of Europe. Surrounded by vineyards and cultivated fields, they are a true wonder of nature, as the sea is 30 kilometres away. Their history dates back to at least 1177, but it is said that rock salt has been mined since prehistoric times. The water, seven times saltier than that of the ocean, emerges from a well after passing through an underground deposit, leaving behind the pure vestige of an ancient sea.

From this small chapel you have a great view over the surrounding countryside.