It’s true, we know it’s a long way off, but we’ ve only just visited this wonderful exhibition of nativity scenes made from salt and, let’s face it, it’s only a short hop from Lisbon… and it’s well worth it because there aren’t many of these in the world.
The rustic exhibition is taking place until King’s Day, January 6 (Tuesday), in the Salinas de Rio Maior, between 10am and 7pm, where you’ll also find a complete Christmas market with stores and lots of entertainment for the little ones.
Exhibition of Salt Cribs
The annual Christmas nativity scene exhibition at the Salinas de Rio Maior has been going on since 2012 (how come we never knew about it before?), and last weekend we stopped by for a quick visit, which turned out to be longer because there was so much to see, especially the nativity scenes made with the salt itself from these well-known Portuguese salt pans.
Unlike the Christmas lights we’re all familiar with, Rio Maior’s “white gold” sculpted nativity scenes have a very strict display window, since salt is a very sensitive element to thermal variations and winter humidity, revealing themselves to be ephemeral works of art.
If you’ve never been there, in addition to the usual salt cribs installed at various points in the salt pans, it’s worth going into each of the many historic wooden houses to admire their own cribs, created by their owners.
What not to miss
Although there are less than 48 hours left to visit, this is a great opportunity to observe the minute details of the biblical figures and ethnographic representations molded exclusively with salt extracted from the local mines.
There are large and small salt cribs, and one you really shouldn’t miss is the Giant C rib which is set up inside this Christmas complex and stands out as the centerpiece of this iconic display, taking several weeks to prepare and being dismantled immediately after closing.
Visit all the unique little craft and food shops and take the opportunity to do some shopping; we bought a kilo of salt from these salt pans and it only cost us €1.
If you’re going with children, they’ll love walking through the Labyrinth of the Enchanted Valley, riding the Christmas Train or having their picture taken with Mickey, among other amusements.
If you stop by at the end of the day, you’ll be enchanted by the lighting that reflects off the salt crystals, creating a unique optical effect that can only be appreciated live on these last two evenings.
We’ll leave you with one last tip: you probably won’t find much traffic in the area (but you never know, right?), so arriving in the late morning would be the most appropriate, not least because you can take advantage of some of the restaurants here to grab a bite to eat.
The journey from Lisbon takes up to 1h15 and Salinas de Rio Maior can be reached via the A8 and A15, making it the ultimate Christmas destination this holiday season for a last-minute getaway before returning to the January routine.
Address: Salinas de Rio Maior
Opening hours: until January 6th, from 10am to 7pm
Tickets: free
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