Late afternoon at Praia do Campismo, Tróia Pensinsular. Soft white sand, pine trees, warm ocean and magnificent views to the Serra da Arrábida
perfect praias
The Portuguese are secretive about this string of stunning beaches
situated surprisingly close to the capital.
2 July 2015
"As we crossed the Sado Estuary on the bright-green ferry, the shallow sandy shoals of the Tróia Pensinsula appeared like a desert island. "It looks like the wild coast of Malaysia" my travelling companion remarked.
Northern European tourists flock to the 96-mile long Algarve coastline, often without making a visit to a truly unsung stretch of beaches less than an hour south of Lisbon. We spoke to many holidaymakers who said they wouldn't necessarily consider a beach holiday outside of the Algarve.
To qualify this perspective, only a few days ago, I was discussing Portugal as a holiday destination with my next door neighbour, a 62-year old retired fireman. He describes himself as a well-travelled man who enjoys the finer things in life. He remarked “For me, Portugal is the Algarve. I don’t know what there is outside of the Algarve, but I can’t think many tourists go there. Where do you see a holiday brochure that includes areas outside the Algarve?”.
In 2011, whilst taking a gap year, I visited Portugal for the very first time and stayed in Lisbon. By bicycle, I explored the delicious and unheard-of coastline that is geographically close to Lisbon, but yet wildly isolated. South of Lisbon’s River Tejo, the shoreline is, by and large, not well-known by nationalities other than the Portuguese. A ferry, a bus, a train or a bike can take you over the river. Once you pass the built-up area of Costa da Caparica, you’re close to some of the most spectacular beaches.
Of particular beauty are the pristine sands north and south of the traditional fishing village of Fonte da Telha. Here, the yellow-reddish cliffs are tall and wild, with panoramic views as far as Cabo Espichel. The area consists of the Mata dos Medos, a vast pine forest planted by João V to stop the sea and sands invading the agricultural fields. The air is scented with pine. The ocean here can sometimes be calm, sometimes rough. Sometimes the ocean can be cold, but other times, during periods of little or no wind, the ocean temperature is like a bath.
More adventurous souls can take the dusty road from the Forte do Cavalo in the town of Sesimbra, which winds sinuously to the exorbitant turquoise waters of Praia da Ribeira do Cavalo. It is possible to drive there, but the last fifteen minutes involves a descent on steep and rough paths.
The beaches in the Serra da Arrábida park and those on the gloriously-isolated Tróia Pensinsular – reachable by a 25 minute ferry across the Sado Estuary – are arguably some of the most beautiful beaches in all of Europe. That my neighbour, or anyone else for that matter, has never heard of these beaches, is perhaps their saving grace. Even in peak season, these beaches offer limitless space and an abundance of nature that the patrons of the Algarvian, Spanish or French beaches could only dream of.
The steep green angles of the Serra da Arrábida tumbling down to the sugar-white sands of Praia dos Galapos and Praia do Creiro
Before I visited Portugal, my life as a travel magazine editor was hectic, but varied. Back then, I had the opportunity to dip my toes in the waters off many of the world’s most highly sought-after and fashionable beach locations: the Caribbean, Eastern and Southern Africa (including the gorgeous, sugary islands of Mozambique’s Quirimbas Archipelago), USA, France, Greece, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and many other spots in Latin America and Asia.
For their pure, aesthetic and sensuous appeal, I believe the beaches south of Lisbon deserve the accolade of being described as a modern-day earthly paradise. And the very first time I took my family on the bright-green ferry from Setúbal to Tróia, they gasped at the unfolding coastal scenery. “It looks like the wild coast of Malaysia!”.
The peaceful, white-sand shoals south of Fonte da Telha are completely wild and natural, fringed by pine trees and towering cliffs of orange rock. Often, you can find a dried-up stream-bed which descends from the top right down to the beach. Sometimes during strong tides, the beach itself becomes a large lagoon of shimmering water, the domain of giggling children and lazy dogs. The sand in some parts is as white as talcum powder (particularly on the Tróia Peninsula, third beach in the video, below). From Fonte da Telha, the beach runs south in an unbroken wild curve for 7.9 miles.
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My favourite beach is ultimately on the wild Tróia Peninsular, a few miles south (and out of eye-sight) of the modern blocks of the Tróia resort. It's known as Praia do Campismo. I spent my birthday there, last year, surrounded by my family and two dogs. We cooked sardines on the beach. We were surrounded by squeaky, white sand, with no buildings in sight and hardly another soul even during the sweltering days of the second week of July. We swam in the warm, gentle, turquoise ocean. We looked at washed-up shells. We gazed at the distant, hazy views of the Serra da Arrábida. We could smell the pine resin when we walked in the forest. Bottlenose dolphins are frequently spotted on this stretch of coast, although we didn’t see any of that occasion. The surroundings remind me of Anguilla or the Bahamas.
And from late July, in the dunes, you can find dark-green bushes, no more than a metre high, hung with white, shiny berries that look just like small pearls. These berries – in Portuguese, camarinhas (Latin: Corema album), or in English, the Portuguese crowberry – give off a very slight odour of honey. They are edible, with a slight sour taste, but nonetheless refreshing and packed with goodness. I know a lady in her seventies from Setúbal who makes a rich, fruit jam from the berry.
Thankfully, at all these beaches, there is little or no modern construction. Quercus, the National Association for Nature Conservation, has done a lot to protect these places.