Top 8 Lakes around Ota

Artificial lake, with a very pleasant surrounding area. In summer, especially at weekends, the area is very popular with families and groups for picnics. Note: The description below seems to refer to another place, which I think is the Ermida Bridge

Surrounded by beautiful and abundant trees, it is a bridge with a Romanesque arch. There are several theories regarding its construction; some argue that it was built during the reign of D. João II, in order to facilitate the King's movement when he went to meet Queen D. Leonor for a swim in Caldas, while others claim that it was built in the 19th century due to a technical issue, namely its width. Interestingly, this bridge supports two enormous pine trees at the top of the road.

Artificial lake, with a very pleasant surrounding area. In summer, especially at weekends, the area is very popular with families and groups for picnics.

This area, which is home to vast meadows, owes its name to the fact that in the past (80 or 90 years ago) it was a place where wild cattle were allowed to graze freely. Next to a small lake created to retain rainwater (surface water is rare in the Serra de Montejunto, as it is a mountain made up mostly of limestone), you can still see the ruins of an old stable where the animals spent the night to protect themselves from the cold. Today, this area, especially in the autumn and winter months, is used as a grazing area for goats and sheep. In the spring and summer, these fertile meadows are used by the populations of the nearby villages (Cercal and Rocha Forte) to grow crops such as potatoes and other dryland crops.

At the top of Mount Mecca, there was once, I believe it was still working in the 90s, a basalt quarry. it has been closed and has barbed wire to prevent people from entering. As I found out, there were people who went there to bathe, but there was someone who cut part of that fence, and you can get there by bike. The panorama is amazing...

This crater is located in the place usually known as Cabeço de Meca or Cabeço de Santa Quitéria, and is classified as having been a volcanic chimney. This chimney, which was operated as a quarry for the extraction of basaltic material for years, is currently unprotected, as a result of the impasse caused by the PARP, leaving visible the industrial structures that support this extraction, such as a lake in the center of its crater, also a consequence of the same exploitation.

“Paul Natura”, Manique do Intendente https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nKhlLvOrJw

Paúl de Manique do Intendente is an area of around 97,000 square meters that constitutes a very rich natural heritage of great importance in terms of biodiversity, namely in terms of avifauna, already recognized at national level. It is an ecosystem composed of more than 180 species, where you can find 5 "simply unique" species such as the striped tortoise, the common caiman, the otter, the black stork and the reed. The municipality has been focusing on promoting this space, having recently advanced with the installation of an infrastructure for the observation of the fauna and flora of Pául, which aims to promote knowledge, protection and preservation of this unique and so rich ecosystem for the Municipality of Azambuja and for the entire region.