Close to nature in the Tapada Nacional de Mafra

In the former hunting grounds of the Portuguese kings, of course you hope to bump into wildlife. Did I succeed? Spoiler: no, unfortunately not. But even without seeing deer or wild boars, it was wonderful to take a walk through the Tapada Nacional de Mafra. With special thanks to the beautiful cirrus clouds in the sky that day!

Palace, monastery and hunting ground

The Portuguese town of Mafra is best known for the Palácio Nacional de Mafra, a huge palace and monastery from the eighteenth century, built by order of King João V. This includes a forest of more than 800 hectares, where the royal family held hunting parties, but which also supplied wood and water to the palace. The whole has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2019 and is a major attraction in Portugal. Still, the average tourist will only visit the palace and skip the forest.

Isn’t the forest worth a visit? That depends on where you prefer to spend your time and how much you’re willing to pay for it. You can visit a lot of fantastic nature in Portugal, without having to pay an entrance fee. But maybe you like trees much more than palaces or you love spotting wildlife. I don’t think you can waste your time with a visit to the Tapada Nacional de Mafra, except when it rains perhaps.

Hiking trails

The nature in the park is beautiful and there are all kinds of trails and routes that you can walk. These do not always correspond to the leaflet that you can get at the entrance or to the information board at the start. But as long as you take into account that the distance might be slightly different than you expect, you won’t have any issues. We combined different routes to walk the distance we preferred.

Other activities

In addition to hiking trails, you will also find routes for trail running and mountain bikes. For people who have difficulty walking, or like to explore the Tapada with a guide, there is an electric cart to show you the most beautiful places in the forest. There is a climbing forest for children and at fixed times there are performances in the amphitheatre about birds of prey and bees. There is a picnic area and an area where you can buy drinks or snacks from a vending machine.

Special trees

The Tapada Nacional de Mafra has a rich biodiversity. That starts at the entrance where you are welcomed by a huge bougainvillea. Once you pass the gates, many fantastic trees await. The most common trees are maritime pines, umbrella pines, Portuguese oaks and cork oaks. But you will also come across many plane trees, wild-olive, kermes oak and hawthorn. There are three trees that steal the show because of their size and age: a 385-year-old cork oak (2024), a white horse chestnut, and a Judas tree. You can find them close to the park’s hotel, not far from the entrance.

Fauna

There is also a great diversity in terms of fauna. If you are lucky, or have enough patience, you can see fallow deer, red deer and wild boar. There are hides where you can keep a sheltered eye on the surroundings. If you don’t see them live, you’re bound to come across their tracks. Other residents include rabbits, several species of frogs and snakes, and more than seventy species of birds, such as the hawk and Bonelli’s eagle. As you walk, you can hear small animals darting away between rocks and leaves. Usually this is the large psammodromus, a common lizard.

Practical

• For up-to-date prices and opening hours, check the website of the Tapada Nacional da Mafra
• If you want to use the online audio tour (via an easy-to-scan qr code), bring earplugs. You can also read the information in text during your walk. There is not always good network coverage, so if you want to download everything before departure, open this link on your mobile.
• As almost always in Portugal, you will have to deal with some elevation. If you’re not up for that, choose an easier trail.
• Make sure you carry enough water. You can easily spend two hours or more in the park.

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