Along the Tagus: Templar castles and river gorges

Route description

Leave Lisbon north on the A1 and cross the Ribatejo, the flat country of horses and bulls beside the Tagus, to Santarém. Its Gothic churches and the Portas do Sol viewpoint, above a wide sweep of river and plain, make a good first stop.

Continue up the river to the Almourol Castle, a Templar fortress on an island in the Tagus, reached by a short boat trip from Tancos when the river allows. Just upstream, Constância is a pretty village where the Zêzere joins the Tagus, with whitewashed houses on the hillside.

From here the A23 and quieter roads lead east past Abrantes to Belver, where a small castle stands high above the river and a river beach lies below. The landscape becomes wilder, with pine and eucalyptus hills and fewer villages.

End at Vila Velha de Ródão, where the Tagus cuts through a quartzite ridge at the Portas de Ródão. Griffon vultures nest on the cliffs; walk up to the King Wamba tower above the village or take a boat trip through the gorge. There are riverside aires for motorhomes along the way, and spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons.