SERRA DE MONTEJUNTO PROTECTED LANDSCAPE

The Serra de Montejunto was classified as Protected Landscape in 1999, and a significant part of its territory forms an integral part of the Natura 2000 Network. Montejunto is set in an agricultural and forestry area, its 4,800 hectares rising to an altitude of 666 metres between the Atlantic coast and the Tagus Valley, providing an ideal environment for biodiversity.

Located in the alignment of the Estremenho Limestone Massif, it also therefore plays host to chasms, caves and residual lagoons.

 

 

In this classified area there are around 75 species of birds, of which 10 are endangered, such as Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata), the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) and the Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba). The flora is also highly diverse, with 400 species having been identified to date, representing 15% of all occurrences on mainland Portugal, where there remain endemic species that require conservation.

Montejunto has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the archaeological remains found there, but it is also the birthplace of the Real Fábrica de Gelo ice factory, classified a National Monument in 1997, which supplied Lisbon.