Portugal
Portugal - Birding & Stargazing in rural Alentejo

Alentejo, the hinterland “beyond the Tagus River,” is one of Europe’s quiet areas, with a low human population amidst miles and miles of rolling arable plains, dotted with small villages with whitewashed houses, with here and there cork oak and olive groves. With negligible air pollution, the area is so famous for its dark skies that it was declared the world’s first ever “Starlight Tourism Destination”. On this holiday we spend four nights in Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve and make several visits to the local observatory. At this time of the year Alentejo also holds many ornithological delights, not least flocks of Great and Little Bustards, Cranes and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, as well as a range of raptors. As a bonus, we also spend a day birding the internationally important Tagus Estuary, with 120,000 wintering birds such as Avocets and Flamingos.

The Alentejo — Portuguese for ‘beyond the Tagus River’ — is a diverse and beautiful region of Iberia that not only supports a wealth of wonderful wildlife, but also boasts a rich history and culture. Clothed in rolling, arable plains dotted with Cork Oak and Olive trees, nature thrives in this sparsely populated landscape and light pollution is negligible. The Alentejo offers some of the darkest, and most starstudded, night skies in all of Europe and on this fascinating holiday, we will take in the region’s natural and human history by day, and enjoy some spectacular stargazing by night.
 
After a flight to Lisbon, our tour begins with time exploring the Tagus Estuary, which forms the southern boundary of Portugal’s capital and is one of Europe’s finest wetlands. We will be based here for two nights and enjoy a full day at the estuary, viewing its wintering birds such as Greater Flamingo, Marsh Harrier, Black-winged Stilt, Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Kentish and Golden Plovers, Hen Harrier, Hoopoe and Bluethroat. The sheer numbers of wintering birds here can be breathtaking, with up to 120,000 individuals present, including nearly a quarter of all of Europe’s Avocets.
 
Moving on, we will drive east through the Alentejo’s gentle landscapes, passing small villages of white-washed houses with their roofs of terracotta tiles. Away from these settlements, the open countryside is thinly populated and the night skies really are incredibly dark. In recognition of this, Alentejo’s Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve was the first site in the world to be declared a ‘Starlight Tourism Destination’, a certification supported by UNESCO. We will spend the next four nights within the dark sky reserve itself and enjoy several visits to a nearby observatory equipped with cutting-edge astronomical telescopes. We have timed our tours to coincide with the new moon and, assuming the weather is clear, the views out into space from here are truly outstanding. In the company of our Naturetrek guide and local astronomers, we will search the heavens for galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, multiple star systems and the planets that are visible at the time. This region of Portugal enjoys an average of 280 cloud-free nights per year, so we stand a very good chance of clear skies and an unobstructed view!
 
During the daylight hours we will search the nearby steppe for such birds as Great and Little Bustards, Common Crane, White Stork and Stone-curlew, while keeping an eye skywards for Spanish Imperial and Golden Eagles, Cinereous Vulture and Black-shouldered Kite. Other target birds that we will hope to encounter include Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark and Iberian Grey Shrike. Small flocks of the beautiful Iberian Magpie are commonly seen throughout the countryside. This species has been recently split from the Asian Azure-winged Magpie and is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Birds such as Corn Buntings benefit from the low intensity farming that is still practised in the region and our tours in the early spring are sure to be enlivened by their ‘jangling keys’ song, a sound that has become all too rare these days in Britain.
 
During our time in the Alentejo we will stay in the comfortable Herdade Dom Pedro, near the pretty hilltop town of Terena; ‘Herdade’ being Portuguese for a large rural property or farm. Set in rolling hills speckled with Cork Oak and overlooking Terena’s 13th century castle, our base is surrounded by pastoral countryside crisscrossed with plenty of trails to explore and is blessed with the most wonderful sunsets; the perfect spot for a pre-dinner sundowner. Meals consist of typical, homecooked, Alentejo cuisine, prepared at the Herdade with fresh local ingredients.
 
We will not ignore the region’s rich culture and history on this holiday. This will include a visit to the beautiful, medieval, hilltop village of Monseraz where attractive whitewashed buildings are enclosed by fortress walls dating back to the year 1310, whilst on other days we may well see evidence of even older settlements in the form of prehistoric stone circles and other archaeological remains. The Alentejo is also noted for its wine, and there will be an opportunity to visit a local vineyard to sample some of Portugal’s excellent wines. After a thorough natural history, astronomical and cultural exploration of Alentejo we will return to Lisbon for our flight home.
 
As well as revealing the delights of the Alentejo’s diurnal wildlife and night skies, this tour will run in conjunction with ‘SPEA’ (BirdLife’s partner in Portugal), and thus help support its vital conservation work.

Voyage

du 3 Mar 2024
au 9 Mar 2024

Responsable Destination

Contacter Carine

+3271845480

Présente du lundi au vendredi de 09h à 18h et le samedi de 09h à 17h.

Dates & Prix

Prix : 2325 euros par personne
Supplément single: 0 euros

du 3 Mar 2024 au 9 Mar 2024
Durée: 7 jours / 6 nuits

Ce prix comprend

What's Included?

  • ​Flights from London
  • Accommodation: A mixture of comfortable hotels and chalets, all with private facilities.
  • Food: All included in the price.

Le prix de ces séjours est sous l'influence directe du taux de change de l'US Dollar et de la Livre Sterling... NATURE & TERROIR se réserve le droit, selon ses conditions générales de vente, de revoir son prix en cas de fluctuation importante des devises ou des tarifs de transport.
-Le prix affiché est majoré de 10 euros pour frais bancaires.
-En cas d’inscription à moins de 70 jours de la date de départ, la totalité du montant du bon de commande est dû dès inscription. A plus de 70 jours, un acompte de 30% est dû, le solde étant à verser dans les 70 jours précédents le départ.

 

* These tours are operated by Naturetrek (ABTA Y6206) for which Nature et Terroir acts as agent.
“Many of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays in this brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed in this brochure. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLcertificate”

-“It is a condition of joining one of our holidays that you must be insured against medical and personal liability risks, including our 24-hour medical emergency assistance cover. We strongly recommend that you ensure the cancellation cover under your policy insures the full value of your holiday.”

Votre guide

Journalier

A special tour combining birding and astronomy
Four nights staying in Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve, the first ever declared “Starlight Tourism Destination”
Several evenings at local observatory
Great birding by day in rolling plains and copses
Good chance of Cranes, Bustards, Eagles and other specialities
Day at Tagus Estuary, internationally renowned for wetland birds
Visit local potteries and vineyards

Day 1: Fly to Lisbon
Day 2: Tagus Estuary
Day 3: Evora plus Stargazing
Day 4/6: Alentejo - Birds, Villages and Stars
Day 7: Drive to Lisbon, Fly UK

Introduction
Starting at the Tagus estuary, on the outskirts of the capital, we have a day of birdwatching at one of Portugal's most important sites for wintering waders and wildfowl. Heading across the plains of the Alentejo we reach an environment where nature reigns and small villages dot the landscape. The Alentejo region is characterised by rolling hills covered with Olive, Holm and Cork Oak woodland – a landscape known in Portugal as Montado.
During the week we will make several evening visits to the observatory located within the Dark Sky Alqueva reserve and, with astronomical guides, you will have the chance to learn and become familiar with the winter constellations.
Telescopes will enable you to view planets, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies.


Days 1/2
Lisbon
We begin our holiday with a flight from the UK to Lisbon. Arriving at the capital, we will drive across the River Tagus on Vasco de Gama bridge which, at over seventeen kilometres, is the longest bridge in Europe.
Once settled into our lodge on the south bank of the estuary we will explore the marshes and reedbeds in search of wintering birds such as Greater Flamingo, Avocet and Black-winged Stilt. Despite being surrounded by urban areas,
it is one of the largest estuaries in Europe and supports many different types of habitats such as the Montado, saltpans, rice fields and mudflats. It shouldn’t take long for us to see large groups of Black-tailed Godwit, Glossy Ibis and Kentish Plover.
On day two we will continue to enjoy the birdwatching around the Tagus estuary and also the Montado that surrounds our base where we may encounter the splendid Iberian Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cooki), a species that has recently been split from the Asian Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyani). These slender birds move around in small family groups in the winter. Other species that we can find here are Iberian Grey Shrike, Marsh and Hen Harrier,
Hoopoe and White Stork.

Days 3 - 6
Alentejo
Driving across the country we will enter the picturesque region of the Alentejo, we will arrive at our accommodation in the early afternoon. The Herdade D Pedro is set in a remote and peaceful corner of the Alentejo surrounded by rolling hills and farmland with cattle. Across the valley lies the small hilltop town of Terena whose thirteenth century castle can be seen from our residence. This idyllic spot is a magical place to enjoy walks in the Montado by day and extremely dark skies at night.
The skies in this part of Portugal are very dark and enjoy cloud-free nights on an average of 280 days each year. 
On the first evening our astronomer, in conjunction with ‘Dark Sky Alqueva’, will set the scene by introducing you to the winter constellations and viewing with portable astronomical telescopes at our lodge. On later nights in the tour we will drive to the observatory near Alqueva where a range of permanently mounted telescopes will be trained on astronomical objects such as stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies.
At different times of year and at different hours of the night the stars and planets move around the sky so no two departures will have the same evening views. In November 2021 the planet Venus will in the evening sky along with the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The Milky Way will arch overhead.
In February 2022 the beautiful winter constellation including Orion, Gemini, Taurus and Auriga will be in the Southern part of the sky with many open clusters and nebulae. The objective will be to show everyone the celestial highlights and explain some of the science behind the objects we look at.
During our days we will explore the surrounding area inspired by the wide-open views, superb birding and the many quaint villages. Making various stops and short walks during the days we will enjoy a wealth of bird species which will hopefully include Black-shouldered Kite, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Cinereous Vulture, Common Crane, Great Bustard, Red-legged Partridge, Stone Curlew, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Crested and Calandra Lark, Iberian Grey Shrike, Spanish Sparrow and countless Corn Buntings. Little Bustards are a possibility but their numbers have decreased on the Iberian peninsula in the last few years.
Layers of history are in evidence in this attractive but little visited region. Prehistoric stone-circles through to forts,
castles and cathedrals are a product of settlements, religion and conflicts with the Moors and the Spanish. Perhaps the most spectacular is the fortified village of Monsaraz perched high above the plains and Lake Alqueva. Here the narrow streets are lined with irregular white-washed cottages surrounded by a city wall and a castle dating to 1310.
During our time in the Alentejo we will visit Herdade do Esporao, with around 700 acres of vineyards and olive groves, with over 40 grape varieties. You will have a guided tour of the cellars and wineries in this eco friendly vineyard, where the aim is to reduce the impact on the environment and re-use and recycle the bottles and packaging are as sustainable as possible. You will enjoy a wine tasting of 3 of the fabulous wines produced at the vineyard.


Day 7
London
Regretfully we must make our way back to Lisbon for our return flight.

Photos

Infos pratiques