Moorish Castle

The Moorish Castle, Castelo dos Mouros, is the oldest of Sintra's great monuments, a ruined fortress whose walls run along a ridge of the Serra de Sintra like a stone ribbon. It sits across the valley from the Pena Palace, on a spur of rock and forest roughly 400 metres above the sea, and the combination of boulders, trees and weathered masonry makes it one of the most photogenic spots in the area. The walls are built from the local granite, and in many places the masonry rises directly from natural outcrops, so that it is hard to tell where rock ends and wall begins.

The castle dates from the period of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, when it was a lookout and refuge on high ground above the settlement at the foot of the hill. It is usually dated to around the 9th and 10th centuries, though the walls were reworked in later periods. After Afonso Henriques captured Lisbon in 1147, the Muslim garrison of Sintra surrendered, and the castle passed to the Christian crown. For a few centuries it was kept in repair, but it gradually fell out of use, and by the 18th century it was largely abandoned. The 1755 earthquake damaged it further.

The castle owes its present appearance to Ferdinand II, the king consort who created the Pena Palace. In the 19th century he had the walls consolidated, parts rebuilt and the surroundings planted, turning the ruin into a picturesque element of his romantic landscape. Visitors enter through a gate and then follow a path that climbs among the trees to the walls. Inside the enclosure you find the remains of the Romanesque church of São Pedro de Canaferrim, built after the Christian conquest, with medieval graves cut into the rock around it, the cisterns that supplied the garrison with water, and a series of towers. The Royal Tower, at the summit, carries a large flag and offers the best view.

Walking the ramparts is the main event. The path follows the wall up and down steep stone steps, with no handrails in places, and there are wide views over the roofs of Sintra, the Pena Palace on its peak, the plain toward Lisbon, and the Atlantic. Wear shoes with good grip, as the granite can be slick when wet, and be careful with children. The walk takes around an hour for most people, longer if you stop to take photographs. In the morning, the hills are often covered in mist, which lifts to reveal the view.

Entry is ticketed, with timed admissions in busy periods, so check current prices, opening times and booking arrangements with the Parques de Sintra website. A tourist bus links the castle with the station and the other monuments, but you can also walk up through the woods from the old town. The castle suits walkers and history lovers, and it is best visited early in the day, before the crowds, preferably as part of a longer day in Sintra.