This proposed walk starts next to Benavente's parish church and after walking through part of the town centre we continue our journey towards the riverside park, the Vala Nova (New Ditch) and then pass by a series of irrigation channels of the River Sorraia, with excellent panoramic views over the rice paddies and the entire agricultural component of this Ribatejo area, where you can see some of the fauna and flora characteristic of the fertile fields of the Lezíria.

Benavente

Benavente owes its origins to a group of foreign settlers who settled on the south bank of the Tagus. The arrival of these foreigners was in line with King Sancho I's plan to populate the lands conquered from the Moors, thus realising their effective occupation. In 1199, the town of Benavente was founded, which was built under the aegis and lordship of the Order of Calatrava, as it stood on the edge of Coruche Castle, which was subordinate to the Order of Calatrava. The name of the town is also linked to this fact, as it is known that the castle of Benavente in the kingdom of León also belonged to the same order.
Benavente was the second municipality established south of the Tagus. It has an old charter, given by D. Paio, or Pelágio, master of the Military Order of Évora, on 25 March 1200, confirmed in Santarém in 1218, and a new charter by D. Manuel I, given on 16 May 1516. It also received privileges from various monarchs, especially King Dinis and King Fernando.
The town has a pleasant and friendly appearance, and its urban fabric includes many old and modern homes and a wooded park that includes the new parish church, a sports pavilion that is currently being extended and a Cultural Centre next to the Palace of Justice, which is in full swing. Next to the old quay, the toponymy and the structure of the old buildings still show traces of its river navigation, prior to the hydraulic works that substantially transformed the region.
The graceful 16th century pillory was rebuilt in the Town Hall Square, opposite the Town Hall.

- Calvary Cross - Town Hall Building - Pillory (Manueline) - St Anthony's Fountain - Misericórdia Church - Parish Church (Sra da Paz) - Sorraia River Riverside Park - Sorraia Canals - Sorraia River banks - Lezíria fields and valleys - Ribatejo natural landscapes -