ESPANHA
SPAIN
SALINAS
Artisanal Salt Pans
EN 1
22
Rua
ilves
tre F
alcã
Casa
Rosada
o
CASTELO DE
CASTRO MARIM
Castro Marim Castle
Rua
M
ril
e Ab
25 d
P
Dr.S
Rua de
5
S.Seba
6
stião
S. BARTOLOMEU
8
7
10
N 125-6
9
i
Rua Dr.Jos
é Alves M oreira
RESERVA NATURAL
Natural Reserve
8
FORTE DE S. SEBASTIÃO
S. Sebastião Fortress
CC
3 km
Percurso Histórico de Castro Marim
Historical Trajectory of Castro Marim
M
5 Farmácia / Pharmacy
8
Multibanco / ATM
6 Correios / Post office
9
TRADISAL / Salt cooperative
7 Polícia / Police
10 ODIANA / Regional association
VILA REAL
STº ANTÓNIO
Percurso #3 / Path #3
Caminho de Terra / Dirt Path
WALK : Castro Marim
Distance: 3km
Best Time: all year
Upon arriving in Castro Marim take the street that encircles the Castle
hill, observing the houses whitewashed in various colours in a popular
version of Art Nouveau. Continuing, and in an anti-clockwise
direction, you'll reach the square in front of the Town Hall. On its
left-hand flank, you'll see a tiny chapel – the town's most remarkable
monument. There is a stairway that leads up to the main church,
beside which you'll also find a path that leads to the Castle. Once
there, you should visit the small museum which houses a rare
collection and is rich in archaeological knowledge regarding the town's
history over the last three millennia – Castro Marim, the ancient
Baesuris which had the right to mint coins and drank from Attic
chalices. From the keep you can enjoy one of the most emblematic
views celebrated by the geographer Orlando Ribeiro: the mouth of the
Guadiana, the grid of the salt pans and the circumvolutions of the
glasswort marshes and wetlands and migrating birds. Walking down
from the Castle, and now in a clockwise direction, you'll find St.
Anthony's chapel at the southern end of town. This is probably the
saint's last retreat before he crossed over to Tangiers. On the
opposite hill stands the São Sebastião Fort, built after 1640 – date of
the restoration of Portugal's independence – from which you can
also view the mouth of the Guadiana and the street that leads down
to the old quay. Back at the town centre, the Associação Odiana is a
good information source for the region, and almost opposite it, the
Associação dos Salinicultores Artesanais organises guided tours of
the salt pans, and is also a selling point for some of the world's finest
flor de sal (hand-harvested top layer of salt).