Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Rio Maior Salt Pans

Rio Maior Salt Pans

Highlight • Monument

Rio Maior Salt Pans

Name: Rio Maior Salt Pans
Rating: 2

Recommended by 17 mountain bikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros

Save

Location: Rio Maior, Santarém, Portugal

Save

See rides here

Take Me There

Routes here

Best Mountain Biking Routes to Rio Maior Salt Pans

riders

1. Memory Arch – Rio Maior Salt Pans loop from Batalha

97.5km

08:14

1,820m

Hard mountain bike ride. Very good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary. Some portions of the route may require you to push your bike.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Hard

3.0

(1)

riders

2. Terra Chã Viewpoint – Rio Maior Salt Pans loop from Rio Maior

30.6km

02:25

510m

Moderate mountain bike ride. Good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Moderate

riders

3. Old Public Fountain of Cercal – Rio Maior Salt Pans loop from Rio Maior

54.6km

04:10

530m

Moderate mountain bike ride. Good fitness required. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Moderate

Tips

Cláudio Costa (Trilhos Sem Fim - Leiria)

April 26, 2022

The Salinas de Rio Maior are located about 3 km from the city center and are located in a valley at the foot of the Serra dos Candeeiros, in the heart of the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park. Classified as a Property of Public Interest since December 1997, these are the only inland salt pans in Portugal, and the only ones that are fully operational in Europe. The first reference to its existence dates from 1177, but it is thought that the use of rock salt would have been made since prehistoric times.

Translated by Google •

𝘼𝘾 🏕️

May 10, 2025

Salt is extracted from compartments – pits – made of cement or stone, of varying sizes and shallow depths, to which salt water is taken from a well through irrigation channels.

Currently, the water is raised by means of a motor and distributed according to a system that is jointly accepted and respected (not always) by all the owners. The sewers, threshing floors and wooden houses for storing salt complete the set of what is called the Salt Mines of Rio Maior.

According to technicians, a large and deep rock salt mine, crossed by an underground current that feeds a well, makes the water extracted from it salty, seven times saltier than that of the sea. The salt is obtained from its exposure to the sun and wind and the consequent evaporation of the water, deposited at the bottom of the pits, which is then placed in pyramid-shaped piles to dry until it is collected.

The process is rudimentary and similar to that used in the salt mines on the seashore. 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 can be breathed.

Translated by Google •

In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!

Details

Informations

Elevation 130 m

Weather

Today

Friday 12 December

13°C

11°C

-- %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: -- km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See rides here

Take Me There

Location: Rio Maior, Santarém, Portugal

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Barragem de Alvorninha

Palácio Pina Manique

Poço Suão Singletrack (Alcobaça)

Parque Eólico da Serra dos Candeeiros

Ecopista da Bezerra

Porta da Vila de Óbidos

Capela de Nossa Senhora das Neves e Ruínas do Convento Dominicano de Montejunto

Old Water Mill

Restaurante Cooperativa Terra Chã

Salinas de Rio Maior

View of the Northern Side of Cercal

View of Nazaré Coastline

Rio Maior Salt Pans

1. Memory Arch – Rio Maior Salt Pans loop from Batalha

2. Terra Chã Viewpoint – Rio Maior Salt Pans loop from Rio Maior

3. Old Public Fountain of Cercal – Rio Maior Salt Pans loop from Rio Maior

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️