Central Way
Vendas Novas < > Branca
Stage 13
The village of Branca belongs to the municipality of Coruche, the tenth-largest in the country, calling itself the “World Capital of Cork”. It is from here that 10% of Portugal’s cork is extracted and 5 million cork stoppers leave every day. More than half of Coruche is a mixed forest of cork oak and pine trees, ensuring not only the quality of cork, timber and pine nuts but also the ecosystem and pastures suitable for wild cattle farms.
Branca’s toponym is related to a lady named Branca (White) who owned a farmstead in this zone. This estate, formed by bush and grove, was sold by forums, and each plot was measured 11,150 m2, and the payment of the parcels was made in crops produced there.
The village has grown with agricultural works on the plain, near a road and close to the place where there was an hostel. In the immediate vicinity, Herdade das Figueiras estate was one of the largest rural employers of the 19th century.
Branca’s settlement developed rapidly, giving rise to a dense cluster, at the time where the settlement model used to include a road close to a hostel.
Here, we find the Apeadeiro de Lavre, built between 1902 and 1904. This railway halt served the line of Vendas Novas, by the time the monarch D. Carlos I ordered the building of Vidigal palace. In 2012, the line ceased passenger transport.
We also find the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Branca, a small church of recent construction with a single nave, practically in the center of the locality.
One of the many attractions of this commune is the Herdade das Figueiras property and its chapel. In 1949, Gustavo Matos Sequeira included it in the Artistic Inventory of Portugal: “A rustic house and property, in Coruche moorland, belonged to Mr. Jorge Machado Castelo Branco (Figueira).
Center of a typical cluster, in the style of the regional housing centers. Next to the Herdade is a hermitage dedicated to St Mary.”
Long before the commune’s creation in 1984, the greatest efforts were made in this direction, as there was already a very important population core in the mid-20th century. Several important farming estates are located in Branca, of which stand out: Herdade das Figueiras, Monte da Pestana, Monte dos Pelados, Monte da Torre, Monte da Água Boa, Monte das Mestras, Monte da Abrunheira, and Monte do Trozoito.
Tourism
Branca is a place to feel. It is not enough to talk about it, tell its history or describe its landscape. A mystery surrounds the landscape, the land’s cultivation and the secular wisdom of its inhabitants, whose hospitality and sympathy are recognized. From gastronomy to handicraft, as well as the strong rooting of its traditions, are many of the reasons to delight us with a walk on this land.
The civil parish of Branca enjoys a privileged location in terms of tourist attractions, due to its natural landscapes, its fauna and flora, and to the fact that it is very close to the Sorraia River.
It enjoys a rich traditional culture, transmitted orally through generations and diverging through the ages. Branca’s civil parish is very proud of its architectural heritage, namely the main church, venerating Our Lady of the Conception, the private Chapel of Herdade das Figueiras, as well as several manor houses.
and also…
Branca’s Culture and Sports Week − April
Festival in Honnor of Nossa Senhora da Conceição − August
The Alentejo song says: “I just came back from the fields, I’ve already eaten/Today I’m going for a walk/I’m going to the “sale”, I have a drink/I come back early in the morning”. And we also came to Vendas Novas, and now return to the Path early in the morning! But not without first supplying ourselves with an appetizing bifana for noon, as we won’t find any restaurant in today’s stage until the village of Branca. If we come in November, with some luck we’ll be able to see the Mostra das Sopas (Soups Show), and add to our backpack a typical Alentejo “sopa de entulho”(meat and vegetable waste soup) or a homemade broth.
From where we are, we follow Avenida da República (coincident with the national road N4), to the west and, at the second roundabout, we turn right under the railway line, and at the next roundabout to the left, to Estrada de Canha. A long stretch of road awaits us along the N251-1, almost 9 km, through an authentic avenue of wild pine trees that accompany us along the entire length of the route. We pass Palácio do Vidigal on the left, ordered by the king D. Carlos I, which is now a private property closed to visitors. A few kilometers further on, next to the white gate with a yellow stripe, we turn right onto the sand path and cross the Ribeira de Canha stream. We continue 5 kms up a slight hill, through a cork oak forest, until we pass the train line very carefully, next to the Monte da Sesmaria Nova.
We follow the Path towards Monte de Frades, a farm in the valley of Ribeira de Lavre. We cross the estate through the middle of the rice fields to the bridge leading us to the other bank of the stream, where we detour to the left.
We go around an airstrip, hidden within the forest, for 6 km on a sandy path between pine and cork oak forest, crossing once again the railway line at the Lavre’s train halt, closed to passengers since 2012. We continue along the Herdade do Aszeiro road, passing through the middle of Monte da Torre, following the Lavre stream to Monte de Pelados. Here we move away from the Ribeira towards the north, in the direction of Branca civil parish, along the Caminho dos Pelados.
We cross the road (EN251) and enter an area of plotted land, with many villas preceding the arrival to the main cluster of the small village of Branca, on the Estrada dos Alemães road, in front of the Parish Council, where today’s journey ends.
Tips
Always carry water, supplies, sunscreen, a hat, waterproof, comfortable shoes, and a map.
Support
CTT Post Office
Bank/Cash Dispenser
Coruche Tourism Office
+351 243 619 072
Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Branca Parish Social Center
Where to Eat
Tasca das Madrinhas
Café Restaurant O Pintor
Desigual Café/Pastry/Ice cream store
Public Entities
Branca Parish Council
+351 243 606 116
Health
Health Center +351 243 610 500
Pharmacy
Points of Interest
Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church
USEFUL CONTACTS
Emergency: 112
Forest Fires: 117
Canha Fire Department: +351 265 897 117
GNR Canha − National Republican Guard: +351 265 897 860
CODE OF CONDUCT
Do not leave the marked and signaled route. Do not approach cliffs. Pay attention to the markings. Do not dispose of organic or inorganic waste during the trail, take a bag for this purpose. If you see garbage, collect it, help us to keep the Paths clean. Beware of livestock, don’t bother the animals. Leave Nature intact. Do not collect plants, animals or rocks. Avoid making noise. Respect private property, close gates and barriers. Don’t light fires and be careful with cigarettes. Do not vandalize the Paths signage.
