An Unique Visit to the Pena Palace Gardens

In late August 2014, Portugal Premium Tours has been in the gardens of the Pena Palace to get to know the Ardennais horses, introduced in the Sintra Parks in 2010, to support the forestry work, including wooden transportation.

The visit began with a stroll through Pena Park, in the Valley of the Lakes, a romantic spot of an undeniable beauty. Throughout the walking we were accompanied by one of the park guides who explained us not only the historical context of the park as well as the evolution of flora and fauna founded here.

The park is the result of D. Fernando II creativity, King artist, who lived here during the 19th century. This park, with more than five hundred tree species, was inspired by Romanticism and is considered the epitome of this style in Portugal, with architectural references like Manueline and Moorish style.

Here we can find winding paths, stone benches, trees and other plants from the four corners of the World. We get to know, among others, the Ginkgo Biloba, the Ferns, the Butcher’s broom (very similar to Holly), the Laurels, the Oak and the Holly.
The park also has some wildflowers like the Pitosporo and the Acacias, which are harmful to the proper development of the native tree species of the Park. Over the years the park has been performed voluntary service activities to control these wildflowers species in which everyone can participate, accompanied by technicians, mostly biologists.

After a short and exciting walk through the Valley of the Lakes, we reached the place where we have found Valseur, one of the Pena Park Ardennais horses. These horses originating from Belgium, have a very important role, since they allow the collection of wood without the soil and the surrounding area being damaged, thus preserving its natural landscape, Natural Heritage by UNESCO.

The Ardennais horses operate through voice commands from the person who leads. Contrary to what we are used to see, in this case, the horse is equipped with a very accomplished rein allowing the man to stay behind the horse, at a considerable distance, to give him the directions. This is a team effort, where the man and the horse must be in perfect harmony for everything to work smoothly.

We had the opportunity to see Valseur, with about eight years (the Ardennais can work up to their 20s), working, handling the woods and timber up and down some ramps. We also had the opportunity to approach and touch him, since these horses, despite their large size, weigh between 600kg to 800kg, are very docile and peaceful.

After the demonstration of Valseur we had go until the ‘Abegoaria’, 19th century building, which dispute having been burned in 1999, now is fully restored and it has, among other features, the stables where Ardennais are accommodated.

During this visit we also had the opportunity to get to know one of the projects of Bio+Sintra – building shelters for the scarab ‘Vaca-Loura’- which aim is to provide shelter for egg deposition and increase the availability of food for the larvae of this insect.

Sintra itself is a magical place and worthy of your visit and, as you see there are plenty of activities that you can experienced at this location. Besides the park we also suggest a visit to Pena Palace, the Chalet of the Countess D’Edla and the Moorish Castle.

If you want a private tour, you can consult our tours Sintra or if you prefer we can design a program especially for you, according your interests and needs!