Vila do Bispo » Sagres

This trail brings us closer to the culture, geology and biodiversity of this extreme southwest of Europe, a unique and special place.

In terms of its climate, its distinct chalky soil and its proximity to the sea, the coast of Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente is quite unique, and was classified as Sagres Biogenetic Reserve in 1988. It is home to endemic species, occurring exclusively in this region and along on the southwest coast of Portugal. These endemic species include Biscutella vicentina, Diplotaxis vicentina, Hyacinthoides vicentina, Herniaria algarvica, Cistus palhinhae, Teucrium vicentinum, Thymus camphoratus, Linaria algarviana, Bellevalia hackelii and Silene rothmaleri (endemic to this reserve).

The peculiar rock formation of Telheiro Beach is a geological heritage invaluable for scientific research. It is highly recommended to go down to this beach in order to observe this fantastic geomonument. At the top of the cliff, you can observe raised beaches, that is, historic traces of sea erosion when the ocean was at a much higher level. Beneath these deposits is Silves sandstone with its fantastic reddish color, more than 200 million years old. Finally, at the base of the cliff, are schists and greywackes more than 300 million years old, broken and folded, the “root” of an old mountain chain, that has since been devastated by erosion.

Sagres is best place in Europe for observing migratory seabirds, such as scopoli’s shearwater, great black-backed gull, great skua, sandwich tern and other terns. Especially when the weather is bad, these species can be observed from land. When the weather is good, it is the dolphins that attract your attention, traveling through the sea off the coastline. In October, don’t miss the famous Sagres birdwatching festival. In addition to migratory birds, Sagres is home to an isolated population of red-billed chough (Phyrrocorax phyrrocorax), which nests on escarpments and feeds on pasture fields.

Sagres means “sacred” and for three millennia, this was one of the limits of the known world within the extreme southwest of Europe. For the peoples who sailed from the Mediterranean (Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans and Arabs), Cabo de São Vicente was the frontier for mare incognitum and was known as the Finis Terrae, that is, the End of the World. A legend says that the relics of a Christian martyr named São Vicente, arrived there in the 8th century, adrift in a boat guarded by two crows. The cult of São Vicente became so important that D. Afonso Henriques, after taking Lisbon from the Moors, had the relics collected and transferred there to made São Vicente the patron saint of the city.