Borba

How long to stay?

A break is enough, half an hour to an hour. You arrive after 6.3 flat kilometres from Vila Viçosa, so early in the day, and there are still 14.9 kilometres ahead of you to Estremoz. For the fountain, the chapel with the chequerboard façade and a look into the main church, that time is enough. It is mainly worth staying longer in November, when Borba celebrates its wine.

Borba in Ninja numbers

• 6.3 kilometres is the distance from Vila Viçosa to here according to Camino Ninja, the shortest stage between two towns on the whole way from Badajoz.
• 14.9 kilometres still lie ahead of you to Estremoz, where you meet the Via Nascente. According to Camino Ninja there is no other village on the way.
• 1781 is when the municipality had the Fonte das Bicas built, from white marble and for the visit of a royal couple.
• 9 June 1665: On this day Spanish troops took Borba. Eight days later, close by, they lost the Battle of Montes Claros and with it the war.

Arriving: from the palace to the fountain

From Vila Viçosa to Borba it is almost level, between around 390 and 430 metres in height. You walk through the Alentejo's marble district: Vila Viçosa, Borba and Estremoz supply the stone, which has been quarried since Roman times. In Vila Viçosa you saw it as a palace façade; in Borba it is fountain, church decoration and livelihood. Marble is still the most important source of income for many families here.

In brief: a border post with wine

In 1297 the border between Portugal and Castile was fixed, and Borba became a bulwark, the last line of defence before Estremoz and Vila Viçosa. In 1302 King Dinis gave the place its town charter and had a castle built. Little of its wall is left; only the prison tower and the clock tower still stand.

The border position caught up with Borba in 1665. A Spanish army under the Marquis of Caracena took the town on 9 June, then besieged Vila Viçosa and on 17 June met the Portuguese army under the Marquis of Marialva between the Serra da Vigária and the Serra d'Ossa. Around 22,000 men on one side, a good 20,000 on the other. In the end the Spaniards had lost about 4,000 men and left 6,000 behind as prisoners, the Portuguese about 700. It was Spain's last great attempt to win Portugal back by force. In Rio de Moinhos, a village in the municipality of Borba, a marble memorial stone and an inscription that Marialva had set up recall the battle. Wine, by the way, has been made here since Roman times, and today it is among the best known in the Alentejo.

In white stone: what to see

• Fonte das Bicas: The fountain is the emblem of Borba, a national monument in the baroque style, made entirely of local white marble. The municipality had it built in 1781 and dedicated it to Queen Maria I and King Pedro III when the two visited the town. For you it is the natural resting place in Borba. Whether the water is drinkable we have not found out; better to fill your bottle elsewhere.
• Capela do Senhor Jesus dos Aflitos and Convento das Servas: The chapel was founded in 1676 as the seat of the Third Order brotherhood and is attached to the church of the royal Servas convent. Its baroque façade is clad in light and dark marble in a chequerboard pattern. If you take only one photo away from Borba, make it this one.
• Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Soveral: The main church is also called Nossa Senhora das Neves. Its site is said to have been chosen by Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, Master of the Order of Avis, who had it built in 1420 in a cork oak wood. Later Cardinal Henrique had it rebuilt. It has ten chapels with furnishings from the 17th and 18th centuries, and the Capela das Almas is singled out. We have not found opening or Mass times.
• Igreja de Santo António: Founded in 1630 by the brotherhood of Saint Anthony. The marble altar dates from around 1750 and is by José Francisco de Abreu, the same master builder who designed the Lapa shrine in Vila Viçosa.

Honestly

• Borba is too early for an overnight stay. After 6.3 kilometres you have hardly started the day. It usually makes sense to walk straight through from Vila Viçosa to Estremoz, 21.2 kilometres in all.
• You will hardly find the castle. If you expect a fortress, you will see two towers. The beauty of Borba is the marble in fountains and churches, not the wall.
• The quarries are not a playground. On 19 November 2018, a stretch of municipal road 255, around 100 metres long, collapsed into two marble quarries between Borba and Vila Viçosa, and five people died. The trial over it was due to begin again on 19 October 2026. Stay on the track and keep away from the edges of quarries.
• We could not find opening hours for any church. Do not count on being able to get into all of them.

Ninja tips

• Stock up here for the rest of the day. According to Camino Ninja there is no village before Estremoz, and 14.9 kilometres can feel long in the Alentejo.
• Try the Doce Dourado. Borba's sweet is made from ground almonds, eggs, sugar and bread and sprinkled with cinnamon. The local sausages with protected designation of origin go with it.
• In November there is a wine festival. The Festa da Vinha e do Vinho falls in November, around Saint Martin's Day on 11 November, when the new wine arrives. In 2023 it lasted five days, with around 70 exhibitors and free admission. We have not found the date for 2026.
• Nuno Álvares was here too. According to tradition, the commander whose statue of Mary you saw in Vila Viçosa prayed before the Battle of Atoleiros in 1384 in the church of Nossa Senhora da Orada, in the municipal area of Borba.

Onward: to Estremoz and onto the Via Nascente

The last 14.9 kilometres of the way Badajoz - Estremoz stay gentle, the height lying between around 400 and 470 metres. In Estremoz the way from Spain ends and meets the Via Nascente, which leads from the Algarve to Trancoso. From there you walk north: it is 12.5 kilometres to São Bento do Cortiço, 30.4 to Fronteira. Camino Ninja describes the way from Badajoz together with Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo.

Deep dive: Eight days in June

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Borba. About two minutes' reading.

A town on the border

When you stand at the fountain in Borba, you are standing in a town that for a long time had one main job: the border. In 1297 Portugal and Castile fixed their border, and Borba became the bolt in front of Estremoz and Vila Viçosa. King Dinis gave the place its town charter and a castle in 1302. For centuries that was an insurance policy you hoped never to need.

The summer of 1665

In the summer of 1665 it was needed. Since 1640 Portugal had been fighting for its independence from Spain, and now a large Spanish army under the Marquis of Caracena came into the Alentejo. On 9 June it took Borba. Then it moved on to Vila Viçosa and besieged the town of the dukes, from whose family the king came. Vila Viçosa held. On 17 June the Portuguese army under the Marquis of Marialva faced the Spaniards on the plain between the hills, at Montes Claros. The battle lasted many hours. In the end Spain had lost thousands of dead and wounded, six thousand prisoners, its guns and dozens of banners. During the battle the garrison of Vila Viçosa also broke out and smashed the besiegers. Eight days lay between the taking of Borba and the defeat that decided the war. In January 1668 peace was made in Madrid.

What remained

Of the castle, two towers have remained; of the war, a marble memorial stone in Rio de Moinhos. What made Borba great afterwards was more peaceful: the stone from the quarries and the wine from the vineyards. In 1781 the municipality built a royal couple a fountain of white marble, not a tower.

What Borba gives you

You stay here only for a break, and that is fine. But perhaps take this with you: a town that was meant to defend the border for centuries has set itself a fountain as its monument. Water for anyone who passes by. Have a drink, then walk on to Estremoz.