The best MTB trails around Santiago De Litém

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 Chapel of Our Lady of the Star is sheltered by an impressive grotto, which rises like a stone mantle over the temple. Once a simple cavity, it grew until it took on its current form. Inside, a staircase leads to the deepest grotto. And, at the top, a small viewpoint guards the image of Our Lady of the Star facing the sea, recalling the legend that says she guided a fisherman back home.

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.

Ansião is known for its tranquility, local traditions and some points of historical and cultural interest, including churches and natural landscapes that invite you to walk and discover.

Monte da Ovelha offers a miradouro (lookout) with a breathtaking view of the vastness of the surrounding valleys and mountains. It is an ideal place to enjoy a pristine environment and pure air, with a panorama that captures the essence of the Portuguese rural landscape.

Ordered to be built by D. Pedro I in the second quarter of the 14th century, with the intention of collecting tributes/taxes owed by the Jews and Moors on St. Martin's Day. This building with Manueline characteristics separated the old town of Pombal, to the east, towards the Castle, from the new town, to the west, towards the Arunca river, serving as a border to what was inside and outside the town's walls. In 1509, during the reign of D. Manuel I, it underwent structural improvements, and he ordered the installation of a mechanical clock and a bell, so that the ringing of the Trindades would always sound at the right time. Around 1776, the Marquis of Pombal had this bell transferred to the Prison building. In 2014 it underwent improvement works, with the aim of welcoming its visitors by making its history known.