18/08/2026
I’ve lived here for a decade.
How did I never know this about Sintra?
One of the things I love about living in Portugal is that just when I think I know my own backyard, I discover something that makes me look at it completely differently.
🌙SINTRA: THE MOUNTAIN OF THE MOON
Sintra was known in antiquity as the Serra da Lua, or Mountain of the Moon (now I understand why there is a local wine called Serra da Lua!).
Long before its castles and palaces, the mountain was associated with ancient cults and rituals, giving it a sense of mystery and intrigue that somehow still feels very much alive today.
The romantic interpretation of the name Sintra, links it to Cynthia, an ancient name associated with the moon goddess, and even to the idea of “bright celestial light.” While that connection is more legend than settled etymology, I have to admit, I rather love it. ✨
I already knew that dinosaurs once walked this land, as their footprints can still be seen in the cliffs near Praia Grande. Of course, millions of years of geological change mean those footprints are now tilted dramatically up the side of the cliff, which, at first glance, gives the rather entertaining impression that Sintra's dinosaurs were enthusiastic rock climbers. 🦖😂
But despite knowing that, I had somehow never stopped to wonder:
Why is there just this one dramatic mountain range rising out of the surrounding landscape?
The Serra de Sintra is a small, rugged granite and igneous mountain range that rises sharply from the surrounding plains and stretches roughly 10 miles (16 km) all the way to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe.
Its origins go back around 80 million years, when magma pushed into the rock beneath what is now Sintra. Over millions of years, erosion wore away much of the softer surrounding landscape, while the harder igneous rock remained.
So that beautiful, mysterious mountain I have gazed at from our yard, with Pena Palace and the walls of the Moorish Castle lit up at night like a crown, really is as extraordinary as I always thought it was.
And anyone who has wandered through the Sintra forests on a misty morning knows this is a place where ancient rituals, moon goddesses, dinosaurs, geology and a little mythology somehow all seem perfectly at home. 🌙✨
Ten years here, and Portugal is still teaching me new things about the place I call home. ❤️🇵🇹
Did you know the story behind Sintra and its Mountain of the Moon?