Praia da Ursa Hike

Although I was planning to spend a week hiking and exploring the tiny little mountainous country of Andorra for a week, an opportunity came up to head back to Lisbon for a few days.

I had spent three months living in Portugal at the end of last year, including three weeks based out of Lisbon, and loved the city (and the entire country) so much, so was excited to be back so unexpectedly soon.

One of the best things I got to do while I was back based here was to explore more of the Sintra coast. I had visited both Sintra and Cascais last year, but really got the opportunity to visit some of the more remote beaches and coastal views - a dream.

Praia da Ursa is one of the best beaches along this coast, reached by a steep trail that leads down off a dirt road near Cabo de Roca. Park here and then follow the trail down to the beach.

PRAIA DE URSA HIKE DETAILS

When: year round

Where: Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais

Difficulty: intermediate

Length: from the dirt road parking lot, it's just a 1.6km hike each way, which took about 30 minutes because it's quite steep

Directions: from the dirt road parking lot, follow the yellow and red signpost to start the dirt path that is clearly marked all the way down to the beach.

Bathrooms: no

Public Transit: no