The
Tagus River, which is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and
so closely related to Portugal and especially
to Lisbon, actually has
its beginnings in Spain. When looking at the map of Spain, you will
see that it starts in the mountains of Albarracin, almost on the Mediterranean
Sea coast. It flows under Madrid, leaving Spain in the last town of
Alcantara and entering Portugal in the first town called Vila Velha
de Rodao in the region called Beira Baixa. Continuing on, we hit the
small town of Belver which shares the same stretch of land as the Tagus
River. There is a castle built by Sancho I, with the idea of protecting
Portugal from the Moors who so skilfully used the Tagus for attacking.
Heading towards
Abrantes, we enter the Ribatejo midland region of the valley of
the biggest peninsular river, from which the roadway hardly separates
at all until The Tagus River reaches it final point, dumping all
its water volume into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Abrantes is
situated on a protruding headland which makes the Tagus River take
a drastic curve towards the south. If you wish to make an overnight
stop here, there is a very nice accomodation of an inn on the banks
of the river Zerere, overlooking the dam which forms the reservoir
in Castelo de Bode. Here, the river joins a regulating reservoir
and shows us various islands formed in the town, river beaches
and sport clubs in the port. All this makes travel much more entertaining.
On to Santarem, a town sitting on a plateau made up of seven hills
surrounded by another bend in the Tagus River. Having a car rental
when you travel this route will give you the option of making a
little detour a few kilometres up north to get a breathtaking view
of the river before it empties its abundant water volume into the
Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon.
What the Tagus
means to us.
The Tagus River,
spelt Tejo in Portuguese, is only outdone in amount of volume by
the Ebro River in Spain. Even though this river starts in Spain,
it is of international interest and a very important factor in
the commercial and agricultural life of the Iberian Peninsula.
Due to the insufficient water supplies in both of these countries,
owing to climatic changes and increased population, these two governments
are negotiating better ideas to manage and deal out water supplies
so that everyone´s
needs are satisfied.
It does not matter if you start from Lisbon after arriving on your cheap flights
and head up north to follow this fascinating river course, staying at discount
accomodation, many of which are cute little rural homes and inns, or if you
arrive from Spain in your car rental but the most outstanding feature of your
holiday should be to take in different views of the Tagus River.
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