Get some exercise with a walk, enjoy a drink at the Club, and try the local cuisine at the village restaurant – it will surprise you. Just a few kilometres away, you will find Fátima, the Atlantic beaches, monasteries and castles. But this is where we stop. Make the most of it!
This is the expression used when, at the beginning of winter in the grota – the main spring of the River Lis – the water bursts spectacularly after several days of continuous rain in the mountains. There, the water falls and immediately disappears into the vertical conduits of the dissolving limestone.
It is at the grota – the main spring of the River Lis – that we invite you to create and to preserve. The ecological importance of this place reminds us how much we need to protect the planet we live on. If the river that rises here feeds the biodiversity of this river basin, it is also up to us to contribute to the preservation of that biodiversity.
The cultural value of the grota goes beyond this land, touching all beings and elements that visit it – conscious and unconscious, sentient and non-sentient. It is a culture of respect and integration. These are the values you will find in the people who live in Fontes. Take care of our planet.
As you stroll through the village, the landscape is rural and filled with a peaceful atmosphere. Once autumn harvests are over, quiet returns. The fields become waterlogged.Cabbage and maize grow along the banks; further out, vineyards, olive groves, and orchards of apple and pear trees stretch across the land, bordered by fig trees, oaks, and chestnut trees.
Fontes lies within the protected area of the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park, a region rich in karst formations and biodiversity. This is a land of trails, dirt paths, and outdoor experiences.
The activities invite visitors to explore natural areas, engage in outdoor sports, and take part in environmental interpretation. They include experiences such as wildlife and plant observation, walks, group events, and activities for children, encouraging the conservation of historical, natural, and cultural heritage. These initiatives also promote environmental awareness through direct contact with the landscape and the geographical language it offers.
This circular route starts and ends in Fontes. Halfway along the route, you reach the highest point, where, weather permitting, you can enjoy a view of the ocean.
Between the edge of the Serra de Aire — with its underground world of cracked rock, caves, and caverns, where rivers flow inaccessible to most animals, alongside a dry surface of lapiaz — and the Lis Valley, water emerges from different springs. One of these is the “Eye”, which, despite its small size, never dries up. It was the “Eye”, with its concave shape and its symbolism of fertility, that inspired us to create the GROTA logo.
The language of geography — and some of its sounds, which are gradually being lost — have been inscribed on the walls of GROTA. We have not translated them into other languages because they are the originals. They portray a life of authenticity from the locality of Fontes. We invite you to explore these and other sounds, listening to what the environment wishes to tell us. Somewhere, we have a horizon that urges us to go beyond, and also beyond what lies beneath and within us. It is an invitation to enter into the direct perception of your body. It is an invitation to participate in the music that is being born here.
Take off your shoes and step into the shallow stream that flows along Rua das Camarinhas. Sometimes the algae are cleared, making it easier to walk over the smooth pebbles. Children delight in the cool water, watching the little fish and tadpoles.
Every year, during the first week of July, we are invited to experience the programme of an open-air festival. Here is how the organisers see the Nascentes Festival:
“The programme reflects a time when boundaries blur and dialogues expand. We bring together artists from different backgrounds, with different knowledge and lived experiences, creating a true multicultural tapestry where diversity is a strength, not noise.”
Every year, at the beginning of June, we celebrate in Fontes the oldest of the Portuguese popular festivals, found in various parts of the country: the Festival of the Divine Holy Spirit. Brought to Portugal by Queen Saint Isabel in the 13th century, this celebration follows the three distinct stages of the ritual: the first is the release of prisoners, marked in Fontes by a mass; this is followed by a procession in which a child is crowned as Empress of the World; and finally, the “Bodo”, with a community feast and the distribution of bread to the local households. This tradition is upheld in Fontes, where our philosopher Agostinho da Silva recognised it as an expression of the Portuguese way of being.
Also annually, in mid-July, shortly after the Nascentes Festival, there is a celebration in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes, patron saint of Fontes, who gives her name to its chapel. This celebration is organised by the village youth, with a fair, food stalls and concerts.
Both festivals are supported by the Associação Natural e Recreativa Nascente do Lis (Natural and Recreational Association), open all year round — a place where you can drink Portuguese coffee, national beers and waters, have an aperitif, or savour an ice cream.
The restaurant in Fontes – Lagar do Sapateiro – honours the excellent Portuguese cuisine. Within less than a 5 km drive, you will find the same variety and quality. The neighbouring villages of Cortes and Abadia are well known for their restaurants, among which the following stand out: Maneta, Casa da Nora, Visconde da Barreira, among others.
