Berlengas

The Berlengas islands are a nature preserve on the Atlanic coast in central Portugal. They are half an hour west of Peniche by boat. You can stay on Berlenga Grande inside the fort, at a small B&B with 5 rooms, or on primitive campsites. I believe that is the only island open to the public. This preserve has been protected since 1465!

This is a map of the main island. We walked all the trails that were open to the public.

The photo above is a shot of Berlenga Grande. You can see the solar array for the main habitation area, where the B&B and restaurant are. There are also several rooms which can house researchers, fishermen, or workers that stay on the island. The Duque de Brangança lighthouse at the top right is still active. It was built in 1841 and is solely powered by solar panels.

Ben and I went here in June for our anniversary. We stayed at the B&B. The larger building further down the hill is the restuarant. The rooms were below that. It was nice to have a little privacy from that design from visitors coming into the dock below.

The above photo is of the Fort of São João Baptista. It was built in the early 1600’s, and withstood an attack by 3 Ottoman ships in 1655. It’s a small and basic fort, with much of the interior converted to rooms for people to stay overnight. There is a brief history in one room, and you can walk around the top of it for gorgeous views of the cove.

The archipelago is home to several species of birds. I had hoped to see a peregrine falcon, but all we saw were lots and lots of gulls. And for those that know Ben’s and my history with birds…yes, we stumbled across another nesting area. I got pecked in the head again, but we managed to get through it on the trail without injury. =)