What Is Portugal's Landscape Like?

Portugal's landscape ranges from dramatic Atlantic coastline to terraced river valleys, medieval hilltop villages, and cork oak forests stretching across rolling plains. The diversity packed into this small country surprises many visitors.

What Is Portugal's Landscape Like? Image

The Algarve in the south features golden cliffs, hidden coves, and some of Europe's finest beaches. The coastline grows wilder as you head north, with powerful Atlantic swells crashing against rocky headlands around Nazare and Peniche.

Inland, the Douro Valley presents one of Europe's most striking wine regions, with steep terraced vineyards climbing hillsides along the river. The Alentejo offers a gentler landscape of wheat fields, olive groves, and cork oak forests under expansive skies.

The north contains Portugal's only mountain range of significance, the Serra da Estrela, which reaches 1,993 meters (6,539 feet) and sees occasional snow in winter. Throughout the country, whitewashed villages cling to hillsides, their red-tiled roofs and blue-trimmed buildings creating the quintessential Portuguese scene.

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