Only the mountains and dreams live beyond us, as a sign of eternity and victory over oblivion.
Just 30km south of Lisbon lies the great limestone ridge of Arrabida, a unique ecosystem that spans millions of years back and most characteristic for being of Mediterranean and Atlantic influence. The story began under the sea, first as a marine habitat and after a convergence of Tectonics, was elevated from the ocean floor to form the mountains and hills of the Natural Park.
Life settled in Arrabida, first the animals and plants and later man, who looked for shelter in Arrabida caves and settled after agriculture was invented, it fundamentally changed the quality of life, from nomads to settlers with an abundant source of food all year around. The animals soon adapted to human presence and formed and symbiose, wildlife takes advantage of the effects of human actions for sustenance and in turn, people have abundance of food.
With the birth of modern societies and the increasing demand for resources to fuel development, Arrabida was mined for limestone, a main ingredient to make cement, man started to shape the land, cut down forests to cultivate vegetables and pastures and build big cities causing loss of land and food for the animals, most of the big wild animals found during the Stone Age were driven to extinction due to loss of habitats and in some cases because of uncontrolled human actions.
Realizing the uniqueness of the Arrabida biomes endemic only to this region in all of the world in 1976 Arrabida Natural Park was created. Human presence was drastically reduced which allowed nature to replenish and the species are now plentiful and abundant, some of the more ancient and sensitive areas of the reserve are restricted so nature can have a safe haven to bloom.
Due to the placement of Arrabida the coast is safe from Atlantic waves and storms creating a calm sea all year around which provides the perfect nursery for all the marine species.
A natural park with pristine views and a myriad of different locations provides exquisite conditions for many outdoor experiences, from kayaking, rock climbing, hiking, paragliding, coasteering, caving, diving, mountain biking, sought after by people from all over the world.
Arrabida Natural Park has many hidden gems known only by some locals, hidden caves, viewpoints, pre-historic ruins and more, the best way is to look for experiences with tour operators in the region to get a real insight to the beauty of Arrabida.
Arrabida’s Origin
A long time ago the African and Eurasia Tectonic plates converged and compressed, bringing a massive block of limestone from the ocean floor to the surface and created what is known as the Great Limestone Ridge of Arrabida.
As the Arrabida Limestone Ridge rose from the ocean, the once sea creatures and clams that made part of the underwater ecosystem were buried in limestone sediments and fossilized with the tectonic plates collision and became part of the mountain constitution.
Arrabida is predominantly made from Limestone, a very soft and erosive rock, which has been through many changes and erosions over the millions of years, is in truth a hollowed-out mountain full of holes and caves carved by the elements of nature to beautiful shapes and iconic cave sinkholes that bring rays of sun and natural light.
Also, since most of the younger rocks present on the surface layers have eroded away, uncovered millions year old rocks full of fossils of marine creatures from eons past that can be found everywhere in Arrabida, from caves by the shore to the very highest point of the mountain. As a matter of fact, it is common to be hiking on the mountain trails and pick up a rock with an 18-million-year-old oyster fossilized on it, nowadays a precious commodity was overabundant in Prehistory.
By the coast of the mountain there is one of the biggest caves in Europe lit by natural light, The Green Cave, named so for the colour of the ocean water that goes in the cave from under the cliffs lit by the sun.
Arrabida and Humanity
The earliest known human presence can be found inside the caves of Arrabida coast and traces back to the Neanderthals that lived just before the last Glaciation period, the life of these men was based on hunting and recollecting, mainly clams, crustaceans and birds, mountain berries and seaweed.
They would hunt goat, horse and deer on the plains, seals and dolphins on the coast and eventually rhinoceros and mammoth. During these times the climate was colder, so much that the Nordic seal and giant penguin could also be found in the area, animals like mountain lions, panthers, hyenas and the brown bear too.
Eventually man learned how to bend iron and invented the first farming tools and agriculture was born, nature adapted and developed a symbiotic ecosystem with human occupation, as people make use of the land and great weather for agriculture, provide a source of food for all the rodents and mammals, which in turn provides a bountiful game for the predators, thus making a very balanced environment where human presence is vital to its continuity.
The region is characterized by many different periods of human occupation, most notable were the Phoenicians, famous for their purple clothes dyed with an insect found in Arrabida, the Greeks which built a temple to Neptune, Romans stayed for five hundred years and built roads, fortifications and the biggest fish sauce factory in the empire, Christian Visigoths, Arabs and Crusaders fought many times over control of strategic defensive positions.
Due to the unique layout of Arrabida region, the only mountains in the whole Peninsula of Setubal, human tribes and many civilizations would seek to settle on vantage points of the mountains to provide the best conditions for defense.
Many castles and fortifications were built, destroyed and abandoned through the course of time only to be reused and improved by the next civilization, encompassing a unique reserve of archaeological evidence that spans the whole history and evolution of man.
Arrabida Natural Park
In Arrabida industrialization and human expansion threatened nature, and the Natural Park was created to protect the unique environment and species found solely on this place. Created in July 28th of 1976 has one percent (1%) of Portugal size, roughly seventy square kilometers, and contains forty percent (40%) of the vegetation found in Portugal, very famous for orchids out of fifty that exist we find thirty just in Arrabida.
Here species of plants survived the Ice Age thanks to the unique micro climates present in this region, like the Euphorbia Pedroi and Convolvulus fernandesii, both endemic to this region and kept alive by the influence of Arrabida Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean that protected the plants from freezing.
Arrabida region buckled under heavy human pressure, many houses and shacks were built at the beaches and hills without any control or sanitation that caused a great deal of pollution and litter, big cement industries mined the mountains for limestone and most of the fish were almost extinct, if not for the creation of the Natural Park and Marine Reserve in 1976 we would not have the privilege of enjoying Arrabida nowadays.
Most of the houses were demolished and several tons of litter and debris were removed so nature could restore the habitats and the control on fishing allowed the marine biomes to regenerate and is now teeming with life.
In Arrabida there are twelve species of amphibious, seventeen types reptiles, a hundred and ninety-seven different birds and 34 species of mammals. The rare Bonelli eagle nests only in Arrabida in all of Europe, and it’s of note the incredible community of bats that migrate from all over the world and take shelter in the thousands of caves found in Arrabida to breed and hibernate, some of them endangered species.
The biggest animal in Arrabida Natural Park is the wild boar and since there are no big predators to hunt them, it leads to the destruction of species and flora as the wild boars are omnivore, they eat almost everything, rummage the soil in search for roots and worms, destroying many endemic plants and flora in the process. As a way to control the population of wild boars in the Natural Park, certified hunters are allowed to hunt inside the reserve in order to maintain the balance of the ecosystem.
Humans that live inside the reserve also play a vital role in the continuity of the ecosystem, since man discovered agriculture, the plains surrounding the mountains have provided a sustainable source of food for the wildlife all around the year, it’s important to conserve the live culture inside the natural park, as people have done for thousands of years, to preserve the symbioses born of the bond between man and wildlife.
Beyond Adventures as part of the Tourism history of Arrabida
Since the dawn of man, Arrabida has been sought after for many reasons, shelter and safety, abundance of food, strategic positions, a place of cult, whatever necessity brought people to seek Arrabida they would all be amazed by its splendour, unique Atlantic and Mediterranean micro-climate, the mountains weather the harsh winds that come from North and create a paradisiac coast to the South with coves and cliff-side beaches sheltered from big Atlantic waves and sea currents, bathed by a constant mellow sea.
The only one of its kind in Portugal, referred as the Mother Mountain, shows just how important it has been for people through the ages, considered a blessed land for many religious orders that settled In Arrabida to show gratitude for the abundant resources. There are many stories and legends of sailors that survived uncountable perils thanks to the protection of Arrabida.
With the appearance of modern transportation and the concept of Tourism many travelled to Arrabida to enjoy the white sand beaches, unique nice weather and the incredible mountain views, soon all kinds of people started flocking to Arrabida to enjoy the natural wonders and myriads of activities showed up all over the Natural Park, such as rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, coasteering and many more.
However, tourism for masses causes too much stress on the natural habitats and tour operators need to make sure to change the mentality and keep the human impact to a minimum to preserve the natural wonders.
No one understands this better than the local residents, like Beyond Adventures Nature and Adventure company from João Fonseca, with experiences focused in smaller groups so impact is kept to a minimum and reduce the human impact, also the tours are more personal so travelers can explore in creative ways.
Conclusion
Arrabida has always been a natural caretaker of the forest and all living beings, with its plains, mountains and hills, caves, sharp cliffs and sheltered coves, animals and man have found ideal conditions for living. With its proximity to the ocean protects the marine creatures too, acts as a natural barrier to the sea currents and Atlantic waves, providing calm waters by the coast and serving as a natural nursery for all the marine life.
However, for all the people that come to enjoy the Natural Park there are in equal measure people that seek to make fortune without regard for nature, and what makes Arrabida unique is the intricate balance between vegetation, animal and man, if disturbed it will impact the whole ecosystem, so it falls to us to make sure this fine balance is not interrupted and is safeguarded for future generations.