Landalのおすすめツーリングルート

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.

Turn boldly here and cross the sign area.

top to roll

old railway

The Óbidos Lagoon is the largest coastal lagoon system on the Portuguese coast. It has a total area of approximately 6.9 km2 and an average depth of two metres, with elevations ranging from half a metre to five metres. It extends upstream essentially through two channels, to the west by the Braço do Bom Sucesso, and to the east by the Braço da Barrosa. It shares a land border with the municipality of Caldas da Rainha to the north (parishes of Foz do Arelho and Nadadouro) and with the municipality of Óbidos to the south (parishes of Vau and Santa Maria). To the south is the Poça do Vau and to the west it is connected to the Poça das Ferrarias. It has a maximum length of 6 km and a width that varies between 1 and 1.5 km, with a preferential NW-SW orientation.

It is best to visit in the winter months, when you have air in the narrow streets

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.

The place where the steam locomotive was supplied with water. The locomotive transported coal from the Rio Maior mine to the Vale de Santarém Railway Station, and then continued on to other destinations. The dock, which had a double track, was also used to unload, on exceptional occasions, other ordered goods.