Top 4 Natural Monuments around Cuba

Walking among the cork oaks, enjoying their shade.👍

The montado is a unique ecosystem, created by man, characteristic of the Alentejo. It consists of forests of holm oaks, cork oaks, oaks and chestnut trees, with a very delicate balance and which only exist in the Mediterranean, Algeria, Morocco and especially in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. In Portugal, the country with the largest extension of cork oaks in the world (33% of the world's area), the montado is legally protected, with its felling prohibited and exploitation encouraged. Portugal is the world's leading exporter of cork through the manufacture of stoppers.

The Montado is an agrosilvopastoral system explored at several levels – trees, bushes and herbs – according to the potential of each region. On the tree level it can be made up of oaks like cork oak (Quercus suber), holm oak (Q. rotundifolia) and less frequently pyrene oak (Q. pyrenaica) and portuguese oak (Q. faginea), in pure or mixed populations with variable densities. The ground cover is occupied by pastures used by cattle or is used for dry land crops on a rotation system. The natural pastures can be occupied by shrubs, in variable proportions. Humans are an integral and fundamental part of this ecosystem. It was through our clearing action that the montados were created, ever since we started intervening on our natural surroundings. Human management is necessary, in a more or less intensive way, in order to maintain the montado. Without this intervention, the system evolves, naturally to form a dense forest, where people have more difficulty obtaining resources. The way this process of transformation of the Mediterranean forest developed influenced the structure of the system as it presents today. Some older practices still persist, now without context, making more difficult the adaptation of the system to the new ways of agrarian production. Other ways emerged, some well adapted to the system, other causing more or less serious disturbances. The montado is a system for using the soil developed on a physical background that involves climate, pedological and geomorphological factors with specific characteristics. It is why this ecosystem is restricted to such a limited area, when compared to other ecosystems in our planet.

Area in Serra de S. Vicente where we can see dozens of thousand-year-old olive trees, in a typical Alentejo Montado setting.

Also known as Anta do Zambujeiro, it served as a place of worship for the dead during the Neolithic period. It preserves the corridor, burial chamber and roof slab, although listed.

Old Marble Quarries, currently deactivated. At one time, due to the excellent natural acoustics, a Music Festival called "Pedreira dos Sons" was organized here.

The river beach is located at the Albergaria dos Fusos Dam, about 5 minutes from the village of Albergaria dos Fusos, in the parish of Vila Ruiva, in the municipality of Cuba in the district of Beja in the heart of Alentejo. It is located between Viana do Alentejo and Vidigueira. The GPS coordinates are: 38.288525, -7.917904 or 8°17’18.7″N 7°55’04.5″W.

The Albergaria dos Fusos Dam is an important strategic reserve of drinking water that supplies the municipalities of Cuba, Vidigueira, Alvito, Viana do Alentejo and Portel. It is located in an area with excellent potential for the development of tourism, due to its good environmental conditions, natural resources, natural and built heritage, and good conditions for outdoor activities, such as water sports and sport fishing, among others. The shape of the reservoir, the beauty of the water surface and the existence of some points of interest, not only from a heritage point of view but also from a natural point of view, encourage its discovery, on foot or by boat, and have attracted many visitors over the years.