Monte dos Cordeiros

In 2013 Miguel Maria Parreira, an agricultural engineer with a master’s degree in sustainable agriculture, descendant from a traditional farmer’s family and strongly connected to cattle breeding, came up with the idea of an agritourism, a project for the development of an Integrated Resort in Alentejo, combining primary elements and characteristics of agriculture and tourism to provide high quality experiences.
This unique project is rooted in a strong and wide family experience in dry and irrigated farming and olive groove and in the belief that rural tourism must respect both locals and travelers and preserve cultural and natural heritage, in order to an increasing environmental awareness and cultural sensitivity.
Miguel decided to boost his resources betting on the diversification of his professional activity and to invest in a tourist infrastructure targeted to middle and upper class, framed in a unique and exclusive biodiversity environment.
Its 775 hectares of Alentejo surrounding landscape have the perfect balance to enjoy a deserved rest in perfect harmony with nature and allow the tourist to be part of the plains that extend as far as the eye can see. This original concept with a wide range of modern, fully equipped facilities and accommodations is complemented by a marvelous swimming pool and numerous activities such as boat trips in both dams and three pedestrian walks in the thematic routes.
Miguel decided to start this project, taking advantage of his personal experience and the excellent location and resources of Monte dos Cordeiros, considered in March 2014, a project of local and regional interest for the county. All begun with the recovery of a part of a traditional Monte Alentejano, the main residence, located near the village of S. Romão, parish of Ciladas, Vila Viçosa’s county, 6Km away from the Alqueva’s Dam and near the castle and touristic center of Juromenha.
(The) Monte dos Cordeiros, framed in the Herdade dos Cordeiros (Lamb’s homestead), has buildings and agricultural dependencies, with an area of about 700m2 and a ” hunting pavilion” with 200m2, designed to support the organization of events and the hunting enclosure.
The project also has a component of Events and Tourist Entertainment Activities and It’s focused on part of the building’ ruins from Monte dos Cordeiros. The partial’s house recovery with the creation of three bedrooms and the conversion of an old agricultural dependence into three units “Suites T2″, houses up to a maximum of 6 pax each.
(The) Monte dos Cordeiros is part of a set of the Family homesteads.The main house was complemented with the creation of infrastructures and leisure areas to stimulate several Tourism Entertainment Activities(TEA) for the guests as well as promoting them to tourists in transit or to the ones who stay overnight in other establishments in the area.
Protocols were established, complementing the offer and betting on tourist entertainment. The TEA business aspect has already started, with registration of nautical tours, hunting activities and promotion of traditional products.The Event’s Panning and other tasting experiences have been carried out on the Monte, in a space properly arranged and decorated for that purpose.
The tourism entertainment was defined in four aspects:
1- A cultural, religious, Vila Viçosa and Elvas tour visiting its monuments and its architecture in order that tourists can create their own experiences through social and authentic interaction. Elvas, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, is the biggest fortified city in Portugal and Europe.
2- A pedagogical and educational tour, with interactive experiences, where participants are invited to attend and participate in thematic workshops, enjoying of traditional and cultural gastronomic delights from the region, especially related with the ” Olives Tourism”, since the property has a biological olive grove.
3- A rural nature tour – Alentejo in Nature where the landscape combines the sun, the heat and a slower pace of life. An agricultural, hunting and environmental life tour where tourists can enjoy the magnificent Alentejo’s landscape, with all the existing biodiversity and experience a deep listening of the land by walking, riding a bicycle or picking-up tours. Pic nics and even riding in a typical wagon can be arranged so that tourists can enjoy tradition and watch cows and pigs in their natural habitat. At Monte dos Cordeiros we rear the Alentejo Black Pig known for its superior quality and exquisite taste.
The property also has a birdwatching tower for appreciation the surrounding fauna.
4- Nautical Tour Alqueva Dam, the largest artificial lake in Europe, a vast mass of water reaching as far as the eye can see, surrounded by an enviable natural landscape. .