[1/2] Marvão is an attractive fortified town, dramatically located at ~860m on a ridge in the Serra de São Mamede, providing stunning views in all directions—including across the Alentejo plains into Spain. The village itself is pretty to wander, with its white walls/ red roofs (📷1) & immaculate gardens (📷2). Castelo de Marvão | Marvão Castle is well-worth the 1,50 € entry fee. It was begun by a 9th C. Islamic knight & taken by Christian forces around 1160–66 CE. The Moorish fortress underwent major redevelopment after the Christian reconquest of Iberia & it was strengthened during the 13th C. under King Dinis of Portugal. The massive 15th–16th C. vaulted cistern, intended to supply the castle during sieges, is quite a feat of late medieval engineering (📷3). The stone walls follow the natural contours of the mountain & the battlements are walkable; the keep is intact & can be climbed (📷4). We witnessed Gyps fulvus | griffin vultures, describing lazy circles on the thermals, & atop the keep were buzzed by fast-moving swifts. We found Marvão wasn’t overly commercialized & it was surprisingly quiet on a (pre-season) Saturday.

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