About us
We are dedicated to sustainable tourism, nature conservation and agroforestry.
THE HERDADE DE ALAGÃES IS LOCATED IN SOUTHERN PORTUGAL, ALENTEJO, IN MÉRTOLA, BETWEEN THE CASTRO VERDE IBA BIOSPHERE RESERVE AND THE GUADIANA VALLEY NATURAL PARK. WE ARE DEDICATED TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, NATURE CONSERVATION AND AGROFORESTRY. THE PROPERTY IS CROSSED BY THE RIBEIRA DE ALVACAR AND THE AREA contains significant BIODIVERSITY – it is a great location for birdwatching, part of the Bird Sanctuaries Network of the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA).
The three rooms were recovered as sustainable buildings, keeping the rammed earth (taipa) walls, which is the traditional technique in Alentejo. The wood-oven house was also repurposed as a small support kitchen. Outside there is a small pool with a seating area. We also have two private houses, Casa da Chaminé and Casa da Serra Pequena.
The Herdade is registered as RNET nr. 12009.
Our
story
Herdade de Alagães brings together properties located in João Serra, in Mértola, that were farmed by our family for most of the 20th century. In the 1990’s much of the land was reforested with pine trees (Pinus pinea). We have since added the beautiful Serra Pequena, where there are pastures and shrubs as well as plenty of natural holm oak regeneration. The total area of the property is 265 ha.
Our
labour
Soils in this region are shale-based, showing high risk of erosion and reduced suitability for farming. We want to invest in soil improvement overall while working on the recovery of ancient orchards and vegetable gardens, as well as the existing traditional olive groves. Our vision is to create a productive and biodiverse agroforestry mosaic.
The land has significant landscape interest. It is crossed by an intermittent stream, the Ribeira de Alvacar, and fully it is located in the Natura 2000 network (within the Castro Verde IBA Biosphere Reserve). Within the property there are several trails that can be explored on foot or bike.
Houses
The houses were built on a rocky outcrop. In addition to restoring the original buildings in rammed earth (taipa), we planted in the backyard a native hedge, fruit trees and herbs. The main house is centennial and was fully restored in 2016. The old barns were recovered in 2018 as bedrooms (project by Roseta Vaz Monteiro Arquitectos).
The wood-oven house has also been restored and is now a small kitchen. In 2022, we opened the 2-bedroom Casa da Chaminé, and in 2025 the 3-bedroom Casa da Serra Pequena (projects by Sofia Salema & Pedro Guilherme, Arquitectos).
