by Joana Sequeira
Not very far from Sesimbra, just to the west, lies Cabo Espichel, a cape with extremely tall cliffs overseeing the Atlantic Ocean. The location is famous for a sanctuary complex (Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Cabo Espichel), built extremely close to the edge of the tall cliffs, which includes a church still in use today.
This area is also famous for the dinosaur fossil trackways (ancient route of travel for people or animals) that have been exposed due to the erosion working on the sheer cliffs. It is said that local superstition interpreted the trackways as the path taken by the Holy Virgin (Nossa Senhora) when riding a giant mule from the ocean and up the cliffs, which led to the eventual construction of the convent at that location.
The church is flanked by a series of royal dependencies that provided and cared for the pilgrims that would head there. Built in 1701, the building is in baroque style and in the interior there are pieces of important artistic value including the retable of the main altar in Portuguese baroque containing a statue of Our Lady of the Cape and the ceiling, painted in perspective.
A few meters from Sanctuary, there is the small, 15th century Ermida da Memória (Chapel of Memory), predating the Sanctuary itself. Its interior is covered in 18th century tile panels that depict the legend of the Lady of the Cape. According to tradition, the Virgin appeared to an elderly couple in 1410.
Some of the best preserved dinosaur footprints of Portugal are located on the headland of Cabo Espichel. The Cabo Espichel dinosaur tracks are actually two sets of very different prints, one from the Late Jurassic era (the Pedra da Mua) and one set of the cretaceous period (the Jazidas de Lagosteiros). It is quite amazing that the two sets of prints are less than 500 meters apart but are separated by about 50 million years.
So if you love beautiful and haunting cliff sides, the sound of the raging sea crashing against them and a privileged view of the Atlantic Ocean this is a one of a kind location to do so. Within walking distance there are three notable attractions; the cliff top sanctuary and dinosaur footprints (mentioned before) and the lighthouse. The lighthouse is the lesser of the three attractions at Cabo Espichel but it is one of the most important lighthouses along the Lisbon coastline. There has been a lighthouse on the site since 1430 but the current 32m hexagonal masonry tower dates from 1790.
On a clear night the light from Cabo Espichel lighthouse can be seen for 22 miles out to sea. The light house is open to the public on Wednesdays between 14:00 – 17:00.
A direct method of public transportation from Lisbon to Cabo Espichel (GPS coords) is not available and to fully explore the region the use of a rental car is highly recommended. However, there is a public bus from Sesimbra to Cabo Espichel operated by TST and is the local bus service No.201 (Schedule). A single ticket costs €4.05 and the journey time is 35 minutes. (You can easily get from Lisbon to Sesimbra by bus as well, refer to our Sesimbra post).
It might be a long day, but then your bed at The Elevator Hostel is waiting for you…
The journey to this location is worth it if you love nature, the feeling of wind in your face and to travel through time, either by walking the halls of century old buildings or while checking out the footprints of the long lost dinosaurs.
fm’14
the elevator hostel 
