Mata Do Bucacao

7/30/2019 Mata Do Bucacao

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& Trekking at Buçaco’s Woodlands



Having belonged to the Diocese of Coimbra

since 1094, the Forest was donated in 1628

by the then Bishop of Coimbra, Dom João

Manuel, to the Order of the Discalced

Carmelites, so that they could build their

“Desert” in Portugal. Building work began

in August of that same year, with the

construction of the convent and itssurrounding wall, which were completed by

1630, when regular monastic life began.

The Convent of Santa Cruz, built with the

simplicity required by the eremitic tradition

of the Carmelite Desert, has a unique design

in Portugal: the church, which due to the

later addition of the choir displays an

ambiguous floor plan somewhere between

a Greek cross and a Latin cross, dominates

a cloisterless space, with the courtyards

affording a sense of regularity to the group

of buildings. Or, in other words, in this highly

original design for a building to be used for

spiritual purposes, it is the church that is

placed inside a simulated “cloistered space”,

marking a return to the organisation of the

mythical design of the Temple of Jerusalem.

As a decora tive technique extended to

convents, the architectural covering of cork

or shells reflects the spirit of simple

plainness appropriate to the asceticpractices of the friars. Some sculptures,

paintings (most notably one work of Josefa

de Óbidos) and tiles still remain from the

17th and 18th centuries, revealing a

dynamic religious community that was alert

to the specific artistic styles of its time. In

1834, the abolition of the religious orders

brought an end to the presence of the

Discalced Carmel i tes in Buçaco.

V i s i t 1

C o n v e n t o f S a n t a C r u z

V i s i t 2

C o n v e n t a n

d G a r d e n s o f B u ç a c o ´

s P a l a c e H o t e l The Palace Hotel (1888-1907) is considered

one of the main places of interest. Created

by the Italian set designer Luigi Manini

(1848-1936), the building denotes a mixture

of romantic and nationalist cultures, with

both neo-Manueline and neo-Renaissance

features. Built by stonemasons trained at

the Coimbra school, it was the first formalexpression of the historicist revival that was

to spread across the region.

Other contributions were made by Nicola

Bigaglia (1841-1908), who designed the

Casa dos Cedros, and Norte Júnior (1878-

1962), who designed the Casa dos Brasões,

both working in styles that blended in

harmoniously with the other buildings.

Name: Convent of Santa Cruz | Appr oxim ate leng th: 400 m | Appr oxi mate du ratio n of v isit : 45

minutes | Degree of difficulty: Easy | Point of departure and arrival: Convent | Points of interest:

Chapel, Altar, Cloister, “Wellington Cell”, “Ecce Homo” chapel, oils and sculptures (including an “Our

Lady of the Milk” by Josefa de Óbidos), Nativity Scene.

C o n v e n

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G a r d e n s o

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Name: Visit to the Convent and the Gardens of Buçaco´s Palace Hotel | Appr oxim ate leng th: 1 km

| Appro ximate dur ation of v isit: 1h30m | Degree of difficulty: Easy | Point of departure and arrival:

Convent | Points of interest: Chapel, Altar, Cloister, “Wellington Cell”, “Ecce Homo” chapel, oils and

sculptures (including an “Our Lady of the Milk” by Josefa de Óbidos), Nativity Scene, gardens of the

Palace Hotel (pergola, the camellia garden and the ponds) arboretum, outstanding botanical species.



V i s i t 3

C o n v e n t a n d B u ç a c o

´ s W o o d l a n d s

V i s i t 4

B u ç a c o ´ s W o o d l a n d s

F o n

t e F r i a -

W a

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T r a

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Name: Visit to the Convent and Buçaco’s Woodlands | Appr oxim ate leng th: 3,5 km | Appr oxi mate

duration of visit: 3 hours | Degree of difficulty: Intermediate | Point of departure and arrival: Convent

| Points of interest: Chapel, Altar, Cloister, “Wellington Cell”, “Ecce Homo” chapel, oils and sculptures

(including an “Our Lady of the Milk” by Josefa de Óbidos), Nativity Scene, gardens of the Palace Hotel

(pergola, the camellia garden and the ponds) arboretum, outstanding botanical species, Via Crucis,

devotional chapels, ponds and fountains, hermitages, outstanding botanical species, arboretum, Relic

Forest and Valley of the Ferns

Note: trekking footwear advised

The Buçaco National Woodlands is situated

in the far north-west of the Serra do Buçaco,

in the municipality of Mealhada. Its unique

characteristics derive from the time that

the Discalced Carmelites spent here. Still

containing areas of native Portuguese

woodland, the forest was worked upon by

successive generations of friars who sought

to represent Mount Carmel as the origin of

their Order. Protected both by the

Carmelites and their benefactors, it also

received protection from the Holy See to

prevent the cutting and clearing of trees

by the local populations. Currently

occupying an area of 105 hectares and

endowed with one of Europe’s finest

collections of trees, it contains roughly 250

different species of trees and shrubs,

including some quite remarkable examples.

It is one of the richest National Forests in

terms of natural, architectural and cultural

heritage, and can be divided into three

different landscape areas: the Arboretum;

the Gardens and the Valley of Ferns; and

the Relict Forest.

Today, it is a living laboratory and an

important object of study for various

Portuguese universities.

Name: Visit to Buçaco’s Woodlands | Appr oxim ate leng th: 3 km | Appr oxim ate dur ation of vi sit:

2 hours | Degree of difficulty: Intermediate | Point of departure and arrival: convent | Points of

interest: Via Crucis, ponds and fountains, hermitages, outstanding botanical species, arboretum, Relic

Forest and Valley of the Ferns


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| C o n v e n

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This is a climax formation of native

vegetation that, according to some

authors, still conserves the typical

characteristics of the primitive forest

that existed before the human

settlement of the area. Occupying

only a small fraction of the park, at

the south-western end of the forest,this place is fairly diversified and

houses three different habitats: the

oak grove of pedunculate and

Pyrenean oak-trees; the laurel grove,

dominated by the laurel-tree, but with

the frequent presence of strawberry,

lily of the valley and holly trees; and

the ‘Adernais’ (privet grove) on the

southern and south-western slopes.

The adernal is a unique plant

formation dominated by large aderno

trees, spreading from the Cruz Alta

to the Passo de Caifás (the Caiaphas

station of the Cross). In some places,

it is almost completely pure, forminga dense wood with practically no other

tree species. Amongst the subshrub

species, there is a predominance of

butcher’s broom, while the most

common climbing species are rough

bindweed, bittersweet and ivy.

Length: 2.119 meters | Appr oxim ate dur ation of vi sit: : 2 hours | Degree of difficulty: Intermediate

| Point of departure and arrival: convent


R e l i c F l o r e s t

F o n t e F r i a

The rich water resources of Buçaco’s

Woodlands originated several

interventions between the 17th and

the 19th centuries, with the building

of fountains – of which Fonte Fria is

the most notorious example – and

lakes. The two existing valleys unite

at Fonte Fria, giving way to the Valleyof the Ferns, whose name derives

from the existence there of various

examples of tree-like ferns. Besides

the dramatic terrain, this landscape

features a luxurious vegetation and

several water lines.

Length: 3.295 meters | Appr oxim ate dur ation of vi sit: 3 hours | Degree of difficulty: Intermediate

| Point of departure and arrival: convent | Points of interest: Valley of the Ferns, Fonte Fria, fountains

(Carregal, Santa Teresa, Santo Elias, São Silvestre and Samaritana), cascade.


Requalification Sponsored by



Length: 3.295 meters | Appr oxim ate dur ation of vi sit: 2.479 meters | Degree of difficulty: Easy |

Point of departure and arrival: convent | Points of interest: Convent of Santa Cruz, Wellington’s

olive tree, gate of Sula and observation post of Sula’s windmill, Obelisk and Military Museum.


Length: 3.132 meters | Point of departure and arrival: convent | Points of interest: Stations of the Cross, the Praetorium

and the Calvary, hermitages.


M i l i t a r y M u s e u m

On 27 September 1810, the forest

was the scene of the Battle of Buçaco

(one of the bloodiest episodes in the

history of the Napoleonic invasions

in Portugal), with the Convent being

used as the Duke of Wellington’s

operational headquarters in the

confrontation between the Portuguese

and British forces and the invading

French army. Next to the Convent,

there still stands an olive-tree where,

according to tradition, Wellington tied

his horse when he rested after the

battle.

C a l v á r i o

In 1644, under the auspices of Dom

Manuel Saldanha, the Rector of the

University of Coimbra, work began

on the building of a Via Crucis (Way

of the Cross) with extremely powerful

ideological and doctrinal overtones,

intended to represent the stations of

the Passion of J esus Christ. Thesestations were initially marked by

crosses made of brazilwood, which

were replaced (in 1694-1695) by

chapels commissioned by the Bishop

of Coimbra Dom J oão de Melo. The

highlights are the stations of the

Praetorium and the Calvary, the latter

marking the end of the Via Crucis.

Standing as the representation of

Mount Carmel in Palestine (the origin

of the Order of the Carmelites), the

“Sacromonte” not only symbolizes the

legacy of the Prophet Elijah as thefirst hermit, but also plays a major

spiritual role through its direct links

with the programme defined within

the convent walls.

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