Hiking Highlight
Recommended by 4 out of 5 hikers
Necropolis caves of Vale da Calada:
"The small village of Olelas, twenty or so kilometers from Lisbon, to the Northwest, and about 800m east of the Sabugo station, on the West railway line, to which it is connected by a path, is located at an altitude of 200m on a terrace on the slope of the Serra de Olelas, a series of small, extremely rocky hills, the northernmost of which can be seen the geodesic pyramid of the same name.
Northeast of Olelas, between Cabeço do Norte and do Sul, Picôto, is excavated, as we said, a narrow valley called Vale da Calada, with steep slopes where the rock is bare in the upper parts and covered with kermes in the upper parts. lower altitudes. It is even this aspect that distinguishes the two hillocks from neighboring lands, which on the contrary are well used in different cultures and with some trees, making them stand out remarkably in the landscape for those visiting Sabugo station.
These two rocky massifs, neatly cut out by the erosion that sculpted countless anfractuosities in them, have on their flanks that form the valley the three aforementioned caves of unequal importance.
On the southern slope of the valley, Cova da Raposa, the largest of the three caves, has its double opening facing North and giving on a small terrace cut in half by a curious natural arch, carved in the rock, resembling a butante arch of a Gothic cathedral , quite wide at the top and tapering towards the base that deviates from the plumb to the west side."
The two caves are separated, from the mouth to about 4m inland, by rock perforated on both sides and at various points by small openings, which cross it.
Cova do Biguino, is a more regular cave, located on the north slope with the mouth facing southwest and opening onto a small terrace at a height greater than 10m above the Cova da Raposa border."
- Removed from the website of the Union of Parishes of Almargem do Bispo, Pêro Pinheiro and Montelavar.
June 25, 2021
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