Serra do Bussaco, near Luso. A National Park in Portugal with trees of all parts of the world and the famous Palace Hotel. Description of walks. Beautiful hiking trails for those who like walking in Portugal

To do and to see in the Beira Alta and in the surroundings of Quinta do Rio Dão, Portugal

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To do and to see

National Park in Portugal with trees of all parts of the world and the famous Palace Hotel

The Serra do Bussaco

the Buçaco Forest with the Palace Hotel

The Buçaco Forest The Buçaco Forest is a dense wood, many centuries old, where the trees are of a gigantic stature and are rich in essences, fragrances and brilliance. This unique forest was first settled by Benedictine monks in the 6th Century. Later, it was administered by priests from Coimbra Cathedral, and a Papal edict of 1622 declared that women entering the forest would be excommunicated. The Discalced Carmelites, an order of barefooted monks, took over in 1628. They built a monastery and surrounded the 250-acre (105-hectare) forest with a wall. Over the centuries, the monks and the government foresters who succeeded them have planted nearly 400 Portuguese varieties of trees, shrubs, and flowers while importing some 300 species  from as far away as Mexico, Chile, and Japan and from many other places all over the world. In 1810, 66,000 French troops attacked the Duke of Wellington and his army of British and Portuguese soldiers during the unsuccessful Napoleonic invasion of Portugal. The forest survived, and so did the monastery - although it fell into government hands in 1834, when monasteries were abolished throughout Portugal.

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Serra do Bussaco - 3 pages

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The Serra do Bussaco | Walking in the Serra do Bussaco | The palace Hotel and the restaurant