New all-inclusive travel package: The West Route, Cascais

New all-inclusive travel package invites visitors and holidaymakers to Cascais to enjoy The West Route. The route is intended to be completed in 3 days and 2 nights and includes glamping style accommodation and local Portuguese cuisine. The first night is spent at Quinta do Pisão and the second night is spent at Peninha.

Located in Cascais, Portugal, The West Route is a pedestrian route that links the coastline with the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, a Natura 2000 site and UNESCO Landscape heritage.  Here walkers can experience a variety of landscapes, habitats, ecosystems and cultural heritage. As part of the Great Atlantic Route which runs along the coast, the new Western Route also includes the Sintra mountains, providing an opportunity to experience both the coastline as well as the countryside further inland.

The West Route consists of 5 walking stages, some can be made by horse, bike, e-bike or with the company of a donkey:

• Eco-cabana – Duna da Cresmina  (10 Km)
• Duna da Cresmina – Quinta do Pisão (10 Km)
• Quinta do Pisão – Peninha (10km)
• Peninha – Duna da Cresmina (10km)
• Duna da Cresmina – Eco-cabana (10 km)

Over the 3 days, walkers can experience many activities along the route including:

• Meeting a local Beekeeper – visit a beehive, extract the honey and learn about their importance for biodiversity and food production as pollinators
• Meeting a local Ranger – experience daily tasks, check the fences and gates, feed the horses, sheep and donkeys, learn about their task in maintaining the landscape and encouraging the habitat for other species
• Meeting a local Farmer – take some time to learn about organic food and the importance of local and seasonal fresh vegetables in our diet, participate in the vegetable garden tasks
• Meeting a local Biologist – go deep in the wood, learn how the biologist team monitor the fauna, help to set up the trail cameras, learn about the endangered butterfly and look for the birds of prey with the binoculars
• A Canopy Trail – create some adrenaline by going up to the tree canopy level, you can experience climbing and experience a zip line and an archery trail
• Horse or Donkey riding – experience a horse ride in the park, or a trail with the company of a friendly donkey

Cascais is located 30 minutes from Lisbon and is known as the ‘Charm of the Atlantic Coast.’ Not only are there beaches in abundance, Cascais is also home to a historic old town and lies within close proximity to Sintra – a region filled with fairy tale palaces perched on rolling hilltops overlooking the coast. Offering plenty of exploration, from the Mercado da Vila market that has been gracing the streets of Cascais for 60 years, to the Boca do Inferno, an impressive natural rock formation where the waves crash through in a display of power, Cascais is a melting pot of culture and history. Travellers can choose to venture along the coast to tour the palaces of Sintra with the option to spend an afternoon in the Casa das Historias Paula Rego - the ‘House of Stories’ designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura which houses works by the famous Portuguese painter Paula Rego.

The West Route pledges to protect the areas of great natural beauty whilst creating new experiences and viewpoints for guests. It also helps to maintain the rural paths through which the pedestrian route passes.

(cover image Cascais - Pena Palace  ©Turismo Cascais)