Today you can enjoy the natural beauty of the Guadiana and its riverside villages, exploring a landscape that will give you the feeling of time traveling to an era when nature was ruling and the man was living in community with the land.

The clean waters invite you for a swim in the hot days, or for a kayaking adventure where you can experience in plenitude the majesty of the cliffs and the biodiversity that a river creates when not polluted or shaped by man.

Or you can hike over the river banks and discover the wild where birds nest, rabbits freely jump in the fields letting all the circle of nature stay intact.

Our partners are special, like Casa do Armeiro, and we can provide:

• Boat cruises in the river (different options form private cruises to group charters)
• Kayaking
• Stand Up Paddle
• Local guide (nature and cultural)
• Hiking
• Bird Watching
• Off-Road tour

Mértola Islamic Festival

For all these reasons, it was almost natural that in 2001, the first edition of the Mértola Islamic Festival would appear as part of the Municipality’s events poster. The initiative, promoted at the time by various entities, largely exceeded its initial academic, scientific, museographic, cultural and pedagogical motivations and was taken over by progressively, in the following years, also as a tourist event with a strong impact on the local and regional economy.

The Mértola Islamic Festival takes place every two years, always in odd years, and is a Mértola City Council organization in partnership with the local community and various local, national and international organizations.

in www.festivalislamicodemertola.com

River Fish

The cuisine associated with the Guadiana river is varied and rich in flavours. The most common fish are “muge”, twait shad, eel and lamprey. As for delicacies such as lamprey rice [Arroz de Lampreia]; “muge”, twait shad or eel fried with tomato rice [Muge frita com Arroz de Tomate; Saboga frita com Arroz de Tomate; Enguias frita com Arroz de Tomate] fish soups [Soupa de Peixe], twait shad roe salad [Salada de Ovas de Saboga], eel stew [Ensopado de Enguias] or the surprising twait shad roe “Açorda” (a traditional dish with breadcrumbs) seasoned with pennyroyal or mint [Açorda de Ovas de Saboga com poejo ou hortelã].

Gaspacho & Tomatada

During the Mértola hot days, what really tastes good is a fresh and aromatic gazpacho! Cold soup, with a refined seasoning of olive oil, vinegar, salt and the aroma of oregano. In gazpacho the tomato is king! Crushed (Spanish style) or in small pieces (our style). And then, the bread also in pieces, always the bread, indispensable presence on the Alentejo table.

To accompany it is recommended fried fish (from the river!) Or some slices of ham (from Alentejo pork, of course!).

To drink, a well-chilled Mértola’s white or rosé wine, there it is! If not the best, certainly among the best.

Among these summer foods, do not forget the tomatoes. Very ripe tomato, refined in olive oil and garlic, wrapped in eggs and sprinkled with seasoning.

“Açorda” & “Migas”

In Alentejo, the açordas and migas are an omnipresent culinary figure, a dish of all classes, times and regions, a culinary that define the genuine character of a kitchen. This is because the açorda and migas come to us from a kitchen prior to the innovations, one that saw the introduction of flavours and products from overseas, such as potatoes or tomatoes in the 16th century. The tradition linked to the açordas is millennial, seeming to date back to the pre-Roman period, consolidating itself in the course of Roman rule and prolonged with the Muslim presence on the region. With the Arabs, the açorda assumes the status of a dish for the great occasions and celebrations.

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