Sintra, Portugal

30 September 2017

Sintra is a very charming Portuguese town. It is 25 km to the west of Lisbon and can be reached by train. All the tourist centers highly recommend Sintra Park and Palace. So we reach the Rossio train station to buy tickets for Sintra. It takes 45 minutes to reach Sintra by train. We get down at the Sintra train station which is the final stop. Here we exit and are confused as to where to go and how to go. As our standard Procedure so far in this trip, we hunt for a tourist center. There is a 15 minute queue and we get a few maps, brochures and important points for sight seeing.

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We figure out that there are several places of interest here in Sintra – the Castle of the Moors (Muslim rulers stayed here), Pena Palace (summer home). We have a few options to spend our day here – to take a bus to Pena Palace, or to trek through the Pena Park leading to the Palace. Knowing us so far, you must have guessed that we chose the latter. Its a 2 hour walk up the hill through the narrow paths and roads of Pena Park and passes through several interesting landmarks.

Castle of the Moors –

It is a hilltop medieval castle built in the 8th and 9th centuries, now only the ruins remain. There is a long reconstructed wall which can be viewed from the bottom. From the starting point there is trek for 1 hour that goes uphill and splits into two directions – one going to the Castle of the Moors and the other leading to Pena palace. We do not have sufficient time to trek to both these places, so we simply view the Moors from this point and proceed in the direction of Pena Palace.

Trek though the Pena Park-

I would definitely suggest that if you are fit enough to trek, do not miss the trek through this Park. So, here there could be several combinations – 1) Trek all the way up the Palace though the park- 2 hours – and come down by bus. 2) Use the bus to go up till the Pena Palace and trek on your way downhill (most prefer this as its easier). 3) Trek up till the split of Moors and Palace – approximately 1 hour, from here take a bus, you can enjoy the park for half the trek. 4) Trek through the Pena Park uphill as well as downhill. 5) Or walk along the cemented well developed road to reach the Palace and come down similarly. Of course by now, you know we have chosen the option 4 for our day trip.

Midway along our trek, we have our sandwiches which we have packed for lunch. This definitely gives us the energy to move ahead. Even though its September, its too hot around here, I would otherwise have assumed that Europe has pleasant climate in Fall season. The views from each and every point in Pena Park is mind blowing. There are three different trails mentioned in the website of Pena park. I honestly do not know which one we took, but we eventually reach the Pena Palace after about 2 hours of climbing uphill. The palace was built in such a way that it could be visible from anyplace in the park. The history of this palace is worth a read – so guys google and get ready to study history before you visit here. The best way to walk is via the villa Sassetti – the person at the travel desk would mark the route for you. Honestly, this is the best way to explore Sintra, not the typical touristy way via road but a trek through the Pena park – amidst the peaceful forests.

Pena Palace

Rightly said – Pena Palace is a fairy tale castle. Its straight out of one of those fairy tales about a beautiful Princess and Charming Prince, which I had read in my childhood. I am an avid reader – anything, anywhere, anytime – just love to read.

So as I mentioned above, we used the non-typical way to reach the Pena palace – took us 2 hours and a lot of climbing, but worth every sweat. Its a beautiful palace, we visited all those rooms which are open for public – you can read up about the interiors of the Pena Palace online. At 4 pm – after a snack and some coffee, we begin our descent again through the Pena Park, we have just fallen in love with the woods. The town is beautiful with lots of shops and history here. We have an early dinner in one of the many quaint restaurants and then head back home with beautiful memories of Sintra.