The best walks and hikes around Outeiro Da Cabeça

Using only the natural power of the wind as the driving force, the heavy millstones are moved, and for example, grain kernels are ground into flour (grain mills) or olives are pressed into oil (oil mills). Miguel de Cervantes (1547 to 1616) also created a literary monument to the ancient tradition of windmills: the most famous character of the author, considered Spain's national poet, whose work can certainly be appreciated as world literature: "Don Quixote," also known as the "Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance." He is always accompanied by his loyal squire Sancho Panza, and in one of the highly imaginatively narrated episodes, he engages in a – naturally hopeless – battle against windmills, in which he believes he recognizes four-armed giants.

At this location at the top of the Serra de Montejunto, also known as "Torre" due to the various antennas that were installed there, is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows, which may have been built in the 13th century and remodelled and expanded during the 16th century and later. Inside, the altars covered with 17th century tiles and the altarpiece of the main altar, from the 18th century, stand out. Next to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows, are the ruins of what is considered to be the first Dominican Convent in Portugal, built in the 12th century and abandoned after the extinction of the religious orders, and is currently in ruins. Also nearby are the ruins of the Royal Ice Factory, classified as a National Monument. Here, in the 18th century, the Dominican monks took advantage of the climatic and geological conditions and opened large tanks connected by narrow passages, one part for the production of ice and the other for its preparation, storage and conservation. The ice was later transported to Lisbon, to supply the court and the café at Terreiro do Paço, later known as Martinho da Arcada (Fernando Pessoa's Café)

The "Moinho de Avis" is not only a beautiful sight, the miller, Senhor Miguel Nobre, is using the mill for what it was built for: milling flour! Miguel Nobre was originally a cabinet maker, then specialized in restoring windmills all over Portugal. When he came into possession of the Moinho de Avis (and the one next to it) he was determined to bring it back to life and use it. The milling stones never came in contact with pesticides as the mill had fallen into disrepair before these chemicals were used. He was determined to keep it like this. He is growing and milling mainly ancient Portuguese grains (Preto-Amarello, Barbela and Aveia Selvagem). Following a recipe from his Grandfather he is mixing these grains for his "Mistura de Avó" (Grandfather Mixture). When I visited the last time (May 2024) he was super happy because his "Mistura de Avó" had just been declared national heritage by the United Nations. The mill is usually open for visitors on the weekends.

A great landmark in industrial archaeology, it is the only one of its kind in Portugal and Europe, being a symbol of medieval technology. Its construction began in 1741, and cost between 40 and 45 thousand Cruzados, a megalomaniac expense for the time, in order to satisfy the great demand for ice that existed throughout the capital. It represented a major advance in the quality and hygiene of the process used to “produce” ice, as it began to be manufactured in the factory's tanks and not harvested after the wind had piled it up, as was the case until then. (at https://www.cadavalcativa.pt)

The Nossa Senhora das Neves Chapel, located at the top of the Serra de Montejunto, has been a place of pilgrimage since the medieval period, prior to the construction of the first Dominican monastery in the 13th century.

The karst landscape of Montejunto, in the extreme southwest of the Estremenho Limestone Massif, displays deep valleys, lages, gravel pits and lapiás, formed by aquatic erosion over geological eras. Freezing of water in rock fissures results in gravel deposits.

The Serra de Montejunto Forest Watch Station can be accessed via a pastoral trail from the picnic park. It offers a beautiful panorama of the region north of the Serra.

Castro de Pragança, located in Serra de Montejunto, is an archaeological site occupied from the Neolithic period to the Roman period. Discovered in 1893, its study revealed traces from various eras. Its archaeological collection is distributed across several national museums and, despite several excavation campaigns and studies, the Castro is currently in a state of abandonment. Its fortifications date back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, and the materials found include weights and metallic artefacts, indicating a prolonged and complex occupation.