PATH 1 (Cold Fountain / Valley of the Ferns / Coimbra´s Gate)
Brief Description:
Path completely within the forest, down to the landscape intervention area of the lush and fascinating Valley of the Ferns and return to the hotel visiting the Coimbra’s Gate, the historical main entrance to the forest and remarkable belvedere.
Approximate duration: 1h 45 min.
From the hotel make your way to the present entrance of the Convent of Holy Cross of Bussaco and from the large cross go down the cobblestone road facing west. The 1st pathway to your left leads to the parking lot and to the right you will find the path leads to the Chapel of Our Lady of Assumption (founded by Diogo Lopes de Sousa, Count of Miranda).
From then on, go down to the Cold Foutain (Fonte fria) gainning access to the area of landscape intervention realized by the firm G. Roda & Figli, from Turin, in the quarter of the 19th century, upon request of the Queen Maria pia of Savoy, wife of King Luis I. With its monumental stairway, with 144 steps, and water that cascades down its landings, the Fonte Fria is the main and most splendid fountain in the forest and owes its name to the low temperature of its water. The fountain was built in 1866 and evolved in 1881. its waters feed a small artificial lake built in 1859/60.
To the right of the foot of the Fonte fria, admire the northern top of the bucolic Valley of the Ferns, formed by a unique collection of giant ferns from New Zealand, and continue downwards along the left hand side of the lake and take the path through the ferns. Upon arrival at the large lake, bypass it by the left and appreciate its mystic atmosphere with a romantic island in a paradisiacal scenario. Take the first path to your left and enter the grove of trees. At the first intersection, take a right towards the Shiloh Gate. Continue towards the Chapel of Anáz and turn right near the ruins of the Chapel of the Sacrament (founded by D. Mariana de Cardenas, Duchess of Torres Novas, and that is in ruins because it was intentionally demolished) until the Chapel of Caifaz, the first belvedere of this path and enjoy the view.
From Cafiz climb to the Coimbra’s Gate, with a remarkable panoramic views all the way from the Boa Viagem Hills / Mondego Cape down to the Aveiro Lighthouse, over the Mondego Valley, the Bairrada and Gândaras regions with the Atlantic Ocean as a background. The Coimbra’s Gate was founded in 1630 and remodelled by the Barefoot Carmelites in 1831. it was the former entrance to the forest and has always been one of the forest’s main pedestrian entrances, which led to the historical access to Coimbra. On the walls of the Coimbra’s Gate you can observe the fantastic Bussaco mosaics and two papal bulls, one from Pope Gregory VIII, from 1622, that excommunicated women who entered the forest, and the other, from Pope Urban VIII, from 1643, that excommunicated whoever damage the flora or cut a tree permission authorization from the Prior; being one of the first historical written documents of the Iberian Peninsula that protected the environment.
(Option: re-enter the forest and immediately after passing the Coimbra’s Gate climb to the right and pass through the Chapel of Herod to the Chapel of Saint Anton (founded by the Dean Manuel de Saldanha in the middle of the 17th century and that has a cylindrical form and admire the magnificent scenery in an exclusive and serene atmosphere. Return to the Coimbra’s Gate.)
Resume along the Cedars Grove, that begins at the Coimbra’s Gate in the direction of the hotel, where you can find the Chapel of Saint John of the Cross, the Fountain of the Samaritan (ordered by the Dean Manuel de Saldanha in the middle of the 17th century, it has been dry for over a century and lost some of its sacred character when remodelled in 1878), the Chapel of Saint Peter and finally the Chapel of Magdalen, already located close to the Bussaco Palace Hotel.
