Olive Press Route

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Near Almaceda parish council offices N 40º 00' 30.461'' W 007º 39' 44.056''

The Olive Press Route is circular and enables us to discover a number of former olive presses, traditionally known as beam presses. We begin in Almaceda near the ruins of the first beam press on our route. We then follow the Almaceda brook whose banks border olive groves and small, neatly cultivated market gardens. Along this brook, shortly after leaving Almaceda, we encounter the second beam press, this one too almost in ruins but where we can still see all the various parts of the press through its half-open windows. We leave the farmland behind and continue along the route through pine forests and new forest plantations, which will take us to the last olive press on this route. The press at Rochas de Cima has recently been restored so we can be visit it and see the olive oil extraction process widely used in the Beira Baixa before more modern industrial processes were introduced. The route then takes us to Rochas de Cima before heading to the village of Violeiro. The “must see” in this village is the dipping well with its cool, crystal clear waters that for much of the last century was the main public water supply. We then continue our journey along forest tracks frequently travelled by resin collectors, which bring us back to Almaceda and the end of this route.