Sintra, Apparitions and Stories From the Mountains - Private Night Walk, Sintra

+ Be amazed by the unusual stories from Sintra's History through the words of its foremost researcher and storyteller + Admire the night landscapes from Sintra Mountains + Discover why Sintra Mountains have a unique mysticism nowadays, as well as in the past + Feel Sintra in the silence of the night + Be accompanied by the sensibility, the eyes and the words of Miguel Boim, writer and Historian, author of "Sintra Lendária" (on its 2nd edition) - lectures and speeches on Sintra's history to more than 12K people (as to 2018 data) + You may feel at will to ask any question you may have related to Sintra's History and Heritage.

Inclusions & Exclusions

✔ You'll be provided with a safety vest so you can be safe and visible when on the road

✔ Historian

✔ Stopping at specific points, where you'll hear unusual tales and facts from Sintra's History

✖ Bottled water

✖ Inside access to the monuments is not part of the programme

Departure & Return

Departure: ,

Facing the main façade of the Sintra National Palace (the one with the two big conical white chimneys) you see, in front of the arches and the fountain, a large staircase; to your left you'll see a smaller staircase. Miguel Boim will be at the smaller staircase waiting for you (you can recognize him by the bearded face in the logo).

Return: End right where it started.

View Map

Itinerary

1

Centro Historico de Sintra Early in the night we will meet at Sintra's Historic Centre, where this unique opportunity of hearing the true background of mysticism involving Sintra begins, through the words of Miguel Boim, Sintra's foremost history researcher, with the additional advantage of visiting a tourist spot like Sintra away from the usual crowds.

Duration: 20 minutes

2

Sintra Mountains After being introduced to what legends and myths are and their impact in the village through time, we'll begin our way across the mountain (by road and having very short trails) in the dark of the night. With the stars hanging above us, the nocturnal landscape will be broken by the sight of a few monuments in the distance (National Palace, Pena Palace, among others), as well as some peculiar sites whose past specifics, and what they enclose, would elude a regular guide. Also, you will know how these impacted the traditions and way of thinking of the local people - especially the ancient ones. From the highest parts of the mountain, whose silence a tourist will find uncommon, you'll hear about some of the strange memoirs that history left us in the documents and manuscripts from past centuries. The walk (about 6 kilometers, spanning around 4 hours) has the singularity of being titled "Apparitions and Stories From the Mountains". The terrain is a regular one (often times through dark roads) and the effort implied is very similar to spending a whole afternoon strolling around Sintra, with its ups and downs. And the questions will emerge to you: why are some things like they are here in Sintra? Their disposition, their asymmetry? How have they come to be like this? And why? And which explanations most people come up with? Easy things and quick conclusions are bad advisers, and only looking through the lens of the past, with the proper context of the Portuguese medieval society, can we get closer to a real life lived in the past. In that past, what was already abandoned, causing then fear to visit? Not many centuries ago, you would have travelled in a carriage from Lisbon through a very hard, harsh and narrow road, desert-like, with mountains and windmills in the distance, and your coachman would stop midway, after almost two hours of driving. What for? You will know. A tradition that settled in the 1970's and 1980's in Portugal, but in a context whose origin is unfathomable. However, as soon as one arrived at the Village, you would notice an important building, abandoned, visited by none. This is just an image of a past gateway to Sintra, though there are thousands of them when you look to the past with the proper historical filter acquired in endless pages of memories, documentation and descriptions from the past.

Duration: 3 hours

3

Centro Historico de Sintra The walk will end where it starts, in Sintra's Historic Centre.

Duration: 20 minutes

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby

• Not recommended for pregnant travelers

• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health

• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

• Booking needed until 72 hours before the desired date (this activity happens inside a natural park and there are legal procedures involving the authorities that are needed).

• The walk has about 6 kilometres in around 3 and a half hours (circular route, including stoppings at specifical points).

• The terrain is a regular one (oftentimes through dark roads).

• The effort implied is equivalent to a stroll around Sintra's Historical Center for the whole afternoon.

• This walk will occur under almost all weather conditions (being the exception the ones that may imply any risks for the participants or warnings from the Civil Protection) so please have the proper clothing and footwear.

• In the case of city council events, festivals, constructions, others, route may be altered so that participants are not afflicted and still enjoy this different form of knowing Sintra.

• Smoking not allowed.

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