This walk from Caminhando will take you along a route of great beauty, including the Serra de Santo António and Mira de Aire, the Minde Coast and the views of the Minde Forest and Sea. Other highlights include the Russo trail, the Pai Ramiro trail, the famous Muros de Pedra Seca, Pia do Bajouco, Algar da Cerejeira and, of course, the impressive Ventas do Diabo. Another event not to be missed!

Walking the Route of the Friars in search of the Devil's Walls

There will be 14 kilometres on this circular route that starts at the Minde Picnic Park and Viewpoint and takes us halfway up the hillside to the top of Cabeça Gorda, along a footpath that may have once been trodden by the friars Frei José da Conceição and Frei Manuel da Conceição, on their journeys through these mountains to teach doctrine to the young people of these parts, from the school they founded in the Serra de Santo António, where they had taken refuge to escape the atrocious wrath of the minister of the kingdom of the time, which was nicknamed “Mata Frades”, a trail that is now known as the Russo Trail.

Climbing to the top of the Minde Coast, we'll continue along trails of rare beauty and with fabulous views of the Minde - Mira de Aire Forest, which lies within the Minde - Mira de Aire Polje, which with a bit of luck will be flooded, in the so-called Minde Sea. We'll climb up to the geodesic landmark of Serra da Eira, accompanied by Dry Stone Walls that delimit the fields where we'll also be able to see houses, support houses also made of Dry Stone, as well as huts, huts and shelters, all built by patient human hands over the years for agricultural support and also to clear the stones from the land and pastures, which makes this landscape one of the Wonders of Portugal.

Then, along trails and paths, we'll go in search of the Ventas do Diabo, with its menacing nostrils, and from there to the Grutas de Santo António area, from where, along the Pai Ramiro Trail, we'll continue on to Algar da Cerejeira, a place famous for having once hosted concerts inside the cave.

Along criss-crossing paths we'll reach the village of Choussos and from there to Bajouco where we'll find the Pia do Bajouco, a natural water reservoir created in a natural depression in the rock that fills up with rainwater and which, in the months when water is scarce, is used by the people of the village to water their cattle and wash their clothes. We'll continue along paths lined with walls, where cows and sheep graze in green fields of fresh grass and olive trees.

As this is a friars' trail, the last part of the route will take in a section of the Fátima Way, which pilgrims take here on their way to the sanctuary.

The Devil's windpipes

The Ventas do Diabo are a group of cavities located in the most tectonised area of the Mira de Aire mountains. The famous Ventas do Diabo (Devil's Walls) are the two largest cavities visible on the slopes of Mira de Aire and are so named because they are located on a ledge of the fault scarp, resembling nostrils.

- Polje and Mata de Minde - Pedra Seca walls, one of the wonders of Portugal - Ventas do Diabo - Algar da Cerejeira - Pia do Bajouco - Serra de Aire - Lapiás fields - Caves and potholes - Casinas and Chouços - Eiras and community wells - Mediterranean woodland - Picnic area - Natural landscapes -