The best MTB trails around Pelmá

Ansião is a Portuguese municipality of about 13,000 inhabitants located in the district of Leiria, in the historical region of Centro. This charming village is renowned for its strategic location along the Portuguese Way of Santiago de Compostela and for being immersed in the natural landscape of the Sicó limestone massif.

Known as Serra da Portela or Serra do Anjo da Guarda, this is a natural viewpoint overlooking the Pousaflores Valley, where the landscape is filled with life and aromas. Wild orchids, rupicolous plants, "cucas" (a type of gourd), wormwood, and the fresh scent of thyme, which wafts away with every step, flourish among the limestone rocks. Here, atop Monte da Ovelha, human presence has left its mark: traditional windmills, a small chapel dedicated to the Guardian Angel, the Stations of the Cross for Good Friday, and initiatives celebrating bread and cornbread. It's also a place made for lingering: sitting at a table, lighting a grill, or simply gazing out.

Calm yet vigorous, the Nabão River originates here, in the enigmatic Olhos d’Água de Ansião, where the water bursts from the rock and sees the light for the first time. In the heart of the Sicó Massif, the landscape here reveals itself shaped by water and limestone: gentle valleys, small floodplains, and an underground world of hidden galleries that reappear on the surface in seasonal springs.

The Eye of the Thrush is a mysterious spring that gushes from the bowels of the earth, forming a stream that sleeps in the summer. Among ancient mills and vestiges of bygone eras, the water resurfaces from a deep grotto, a natural spectacle of rare beauty.

At the entrance to Almoster, next to the Centenary Cross (which commemorates the double centenary of the formation of the nation in 1140 and the Restoration in 1640), stand the silent ruins of the old 17th-century church. Discreet vestiges that represent centuries of Portuguese history.

The Praça da República and the Igreja Matriz de São João Baptista are the historical and cultural heart of Tomar, a city deeply linked to the history of the Knights Templar in Portugal. This square is the nerve center of Tomar, surrounded by historic buildings and offering a charming atmosphere.

The Church of Saint John the Baptist (Portuguese: Igreja de São João Baptista) was built between the 15th and 16th centuries by King Manuel I in the Manueline style. As its name suggests, the church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The church features many interesting artistic details, such as the flamboyant Gothic portal, the Manueline tower with a 16th-century clock, the decorated capitals of the interior columns of the nave, and several panels painted in the 1530s by one of Portugal's most important Renaissance artists, Gregório Lopes.

Ansião is a Portuguese town in the Leiria District, in the former province of Beira Litoral and part of the Leiria Region in Central Portugal, with approximately 2,700 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Municipality of Ansião, which has an area of 176.09 km² and 11,632 inhabitants, subdivided into six parishes.