Salinas de Rio Maior

Salinas de Rio Maior

Type: tourist attraction
Time spent: 20 min
Price: free, guided visit - paid
Entrance for disabled: available
Restaurants: available
WC: available
Parking: available

Most shops closed due to the month and also the day we went , parking can be an issue

A fascinating glimpse into centuries-old salt production in a charming village setting. The wooden huts, salt pyramids, and friendly local shops make this a unique and memorable stop for history, scenery, and tradition lovers alike

We came for sunset in August, and had a lovely walk around the site. (No entry fees) Trail around the perimeter (can’t walk in the middle), and so beautiful and fascinating to see how it works. My kids loved it, even a swing for them to enjoy. We enjoyed coming late in the cool evening and having the place to ourselves, however we did miss out on all the touristy shops that are closed at this hour.

Category: Attraction. What a great discovery! Staying at the Quinta da Lapa winery (see my review), we were looking for something to do until our winery tour started at 4pm. We were told about this village, where they have been extracting sea salt from sea water since 1177 (yes, the year 1177). We were also told that despite almost 900 years of operation, they were not extracting salt that day because it had recently rained 😂, but that there are restaurants and shops where we could buy the local salt. Despite the salt flats’ dormancy, we went anyway (about a 30 minute drive), motivated by the prospect of buying the local salt. Really glad we did. We had a great afternoon there. The expansive salt ponds/flats reminded me a little of the leather tannery in Fez, Morocco, without the colors. The flats were mostly dormant that day, but we got the idea of how the extraction happens, and there were a few pyramids of salt (tiny pyramids, not like Khufu in Giza), which is how they gather the evaporated salt. After viewing the salt flats, we explored the village, which has one short, narrow main drag lined on both sides with very old, very weathered wooden sheds that were formerly used to store salt. Now they are shops and restaurants, and the street reminded me a little of similar narrow streets of very old weathered wooden shops in Japan, the kind sometimes shown in Japanese woodblock prints depicting such shops on snowy nights, and used on Christmas cards. We explored each shop along the street before settling on one of the several restaurants for lunch (Taberna 1865, see my review). Most of them sell — wait for it — the local salt, along with a wide selection of other goods, such as salt products, local olive oil and wine, ceramics and pottery, cork ware, cooking and serving wares, woodworking, and art. After exploring for about 2 hours, we had lunch, talking about how happy we were that we discovered this unusual place. Is it for tourists? Yes, but it was very different and unexpected, and we enjoyed our time here very much. And yes, we bought some salt, both for ourselves and to give as gifts. YouTube’s Chef’s Apprentice