Pauliina FlamThe End of the World called Cabo Da Roca
I was visiting Sintra a long time ago on my first-ever solo trip. A fellow traveler recommended that I visit Cabo Da Roca on the same day, but I did not have enough time. Many years later, I found myself in Sintra, once again, enjoying the old castles and green hills, and, as before, I did not have enough time to visit Cabo Da Roca. Both times I was staying in Lisbon, which is just 40 km away from the famous coastline. So, the next day I decided to end this nonsense and take a trip exclusively to Cabo Da Roca to see what is so special about this place. So, what did I discover? It is the most western point of Portugal, with long trails, beautiful rocky shores, and hills that make you feel like you are at the end of the world.
The trails are long, the Atlantic Ocean is fierce, and the sceneries are wild and peaceful at the same time. There is a restaurant with beautiful views over the seashore, but it was way out of my budget trip, so I went for a picnic which was the most scenic one I ever had. The beautiful Lighthouse on the edge of the cliff is a beautiful touch to the local surroundings.
It is among the oldest lighthouses built in Portugal and shades a light that can be seen 46 km away. Local plants are also something to admire: beautiful Hottentog-fig with yellow flowers and thick reddish-green parts. There is also a simple but epic stone monument in Cabo Da Roca stating that here is “where the land ends and the sea begins”. The verse comes from the statement of a local poet, who romantically, but accurately describes this place.
How to get there
To get to Cabo Da Roca you should take bus 403 going from Cascais or Sintra – it stops right at the lighthouse. If you are starting from Lisbon, make your way by train to Sintra or Cascais. If you are not a through-hiker, there is not much to do in Cabo Da Roca, besides admiring the atmosphere, so you can combine the visit with one of the cities mentioned above. I combined my visit with the beautiful Cascais.
Info
A train journey from Lisbon to Cascais costs 2.30e. one way and takes around 40min
The bus journey from Cascais to Cabo da Roca costs 2e one way and takes abound 30min
The bus is number 403, and it goes through Sintra, which is a great day trip on its own so one can combine the attractions in a likable way.
A surprising Cascais
Honestly, I did not have big expectations of Cascais. Googling the place I noticed that it is mostly for beach lovers, and I am not of those people. I thought there wouldn’t be much for me to see, and boy, I was wrong. Cascais is totally worth a visit, no matter what kind of traveler you are! I did not even get a chance to see all of the attractions in this beautiful little town.
First of all, I went for some food since the restaurant in Cabo Da Roca seemed reasonably overpriced (the one and only, on the end of the world!). I walked through the town with lots of shops and some interesting street art towards the beach, curved around it following the sea line, and found a place overlooking the beach and serving tasty fish: Hifen.
After lunch, I walked among curving beach lines passing beautiful villas and making my way to the pretty small “beach”. It is down the rock formations, under a small scenic lighthouse. The water is clear, the views are awesome, and it just took me a minute to let the greatness of the place sink in. As a bonus – there are not many people because.. surprise! the small beach can’t fit many people. It is not even a beach, really, it is more of a scenic swimming point between the rocks.
After admiring this small cute place, and making my most picturesque photo from the whole trip I had to go back. It was a pity I did not have more time to discover the pretty corners of this lovely town, but there was one more gem I checked out on my way back: the gardens.
There are small fountains, many plants, and some nice old buildings decorated with Portuguese tiles. All of the places I got to admire in the Cascais were free to visit – good news for budget travelers! There were more things to see in Cascais, such as Boca do Inferno, or Devil’s Mouth, but I did not have time for this. I also got my portion of rocky shores in Cabo da Roca which made it easier to leave such a gorgeous town. Until next time.
