セルパ周辺のアトラクション＆必見スポット - トップ20

The São Domingos Mine is a living memory of a time of fire and iron. Here, where the earth opened up to reveal gold, silver, and copper since ancient times, one of the greatest legacies of the Iberian Pyrite Belt arose in the 19th century. Between 1854 and 1966, millions of tons of ore were extracted here, leaving not only its mark on the soil and landscape, but also progress: one of the country's first railway lines and the first power plant in the Alentejo. Today, the former mining complex is a public heritage site, a place of contrasts and rare beauty.

Moura Castle is a very old fortress, composed of round and square towers, and is the first fortress known to Moura. The Convent of Our Lady of the Assumption was built here, which incorporated the Church of Santiago, the former Moorish mosque, and became the mother church.

The castle houses the Municipal Museum of Archaeology. The castle walls are accessible. The elevator was out of service at the end of May 2025.

Also worth seeing

You can access Pulo do Lobo from either side of the river: from Aldeia da Amendoeira, on the Mértola-Beja road (left bank), or from Serpa, in the village of Vale de Poços, where you'll find signs indicating exactly where to turn right (right bank). Both paths are well signposted, and both have several viewpoints. The best view of the waterfall, however, is undoubtedly from the viewpoint on the right bank. Further ahead, you'll see Pego dos Sáveis, the spot where the water suddenly calms down again, forming a tranquil lake.

Rising above Moura's old town on a limestone plateaux are the ruins of a once grand castle. The medieval Castelo de Moura was built by King Dom Dinis in the 13th century on the site of an earlier Moorish citadel. There is evidence that the site is even older than this suggesting there was originally an Iron Age hill fort here. The medieval castle was a mixture of old and new including the remains of the Moorish castle and a new watchtower, the remains of which can be seen today. One of the original Moorish towers remained; the Salúquia tower, named after princess Salúquia, the daughter of the Muslim governor Abu Hassan. It is said that when the christians reconquered the town she threw herself from the top of this tower. Over subsequent years the castle was further expanded and fortified. During the 16th century the convent of Nossa Senhora da Assunção was incorporated into the castle grounds, being built on the site of the earlier Moorish mosque. It is said that the convent was home to the tombs of Pedro and Álvaro Rodrigues who were responsible for the reconquest of Moura from the Moors. The castle was almost destroyed during the Spanish War of Succession under the command of the Duke of Osuna in 1707. Further damage was caused by the 1755 earthquake leaving the Moura Castle in ruins. Today the castle is home to landscaped gardens, a military museum and an archaeological museum. It is also a great viewpoint for the town and surrounding countryside including the nearby Alqueva dam.

Reigning over the town, Serpa’s castle is a charming ruin after being sacked by the Spanish and lying abandoned since the 1600s. But that takes nothing away from the monument, as its battlements are still intact and you can scramble up to survey the town and the Alentejo countryside. There has been some kind of fortress up here since at least the Romans, but this castle’s timeline begins with the Moors in the 700s. During the Reconquista in the 12th and 13th centuries the it was besieged by both Christian and Moorish forces before Afonso III finally conquered the Algarve to the south. Get a good look at the fabric of the walls, as you might discover some recycled Roman funerary stones with inscriptions still legible.

The Hermitage of São Pedro in Serpa is a historic church located in the parish of União das freguesias de Salvador e Santa Maria, in the municipality of Serpa, in the district of Beja. This hermitage is an example of Manueline, Mannerist and popular religious architecture, with vernacular characteristics. The hermitage is known for its stone masonry walls, white and pink lime walls, gilded altar, stone baptismal font and images of the four apostles. The paintings and murals in the vault of the main nave are also notable...