We could well define Aldeia das Broas as a “ghost village” on the doorstep of the country’s capital, but it’s still a fascinating haven of authenticity that could potentially have a lot to offer in terms of nature tourism, with secret trails and places for unique experiences.
Nestled between the municipalities of Mafra and Sintra, around 40 kilometers from Lisbon, Aldeia das Broas is located between valleys and streams, with its boundaries denoted by stone walls that have left behind other memories of agricultural crops, in a setting that still preserves the testimony of rural life that took place there during the 1980s, with stone houses, mills and rustic living spaces.
Tourism project for the future?
Not in principle, although in 2020, after 40 years left abandoned, some ideas were “imagined” to turn this “ghost village” into a tourist area, works that would be embargoed by the Sintra City Council since the company Twink Pro never went ahead due to an alleged lack of building permits.
With little chance of improving living conditions in this place, since it has no electricity or piped water infrastructure, or even basic sanitation, Aldeia das Broas is currently only visited by hikers, who find it an invitation to discovery and contemplation.
Walking through Aldeia de Broas allows you to abstract yourself from the digital distractions of everyday life, with streams, oak forests, windmills and rural trails drawing a unique route between ruins and natural beauty.
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