Fazendas das Figueiras

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough, and usually it is more of an evening. You arrive after 33.6 km from Vendas Novas, one of the longest stages of the Way, and mostly you want to shower, eat and lie down. There are no sights for which you would have to move your feet once more. Fazendas das Figueiras is a place to sleep, and on this section that is worth a lot.

Fazendas das Figueiras in Ninja numbers

• 33.6 km lie between Vendas Novas and here according to Camino Ninja. If you walk ten more minutes after Branca, you have made it.
• 0.7 km is the distance from Branca to Fazendas das Figueiras. For you the two places are almost one: Branca has the cafés, Fazendas the beds.
• 488 people lived in Fazendas das Figueiras at the 2011 census, a locality in the parish of Coruche.
• 16.7 km is tomorrow's distance to Santo Estêvão, and 68.3 more to Benfica do Ribatejo.

Arriving: ten minutes after Branca

The day from Vendas Novas was long: almost nine kilometres along the N251-1 between pines, then sandy tracks through cork oaks, rice fields and around a hidden airstrip, and according to the regional pilgrim guide no place to stop on the way. In Branca, the village in the municipality of Coruche, the guide's stage ends at the Junta de Freguesia on the Estrada dos Alemães. Branca has cafés, a post office and a bank. The beds that Camino Ninja knows are a little further on, in Fazendas das Figueiras.

In brief: a name and an estate

Not much history has been written down about Fazendas das Figueiras, and we found almost nothing. Better known is an estate with almost the same name: the Herdade das Figueiras near Branca was one of the biggest rural employers in this area in the 19th century. In 1949 Gustavo Matos Sequeira entered it in the national art inventory, as a farmstead in the Charneca of Coruche that had once belonged to D. Jorge Machado Castelo Branco. Next to the main house stands an Ermida Santa Maria. We did not find out whether the village takes its name from the estate.

In the Charneca: what to see

Here it is less about seeing than about understanding where you are: from Branca you walk through the Charneca, the sandy hinterland of Coruche with its big estates.

• Herdade das Figueiras: The estate with its Ermida Santa Maria is private and not open to visitors. It is still worth knowing about: estates like this have shaped this landscape, and tomorrow you will walk along their fences for kilometres.
• Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Branca: The church of Branca is small and young. The Immaculate Conception is the patron of the parish, and her lily appears in the coat of arms of Branca, together with two fig leaves. We did not find opening or Mass times.

Honestly

• No pilgrim hostel. In Fazendas das Figueiras there are only private rooms and guesthouses. Call ahead, after 33.6 km you don't want to stand in front of a locked door.
• Not a place for a stroll. If you expect a village centre with a church and a square after this day, you will find it more in Branca, 0.7 km back.
• The estate is closed. The Ermida of the Herdade das Figueiras is private. No reason for a detour.
• Tomorrow gets monotonous. The regional pilgrim guide describes the stage to Santo Estêvão as long stretches along fenced forestry estates, about seven kilometres of them, rather monotonous. In return it is short.

Ninja tips

• Eat in Branca, sleep in Fazendas. The cafés are in the village before. If you only go to your bed, you have to go back for dinner.
• Stock up for tomorrow. Up to Santo Estêvão the regional pilgrim guide names no supplies along the way. Water for 16.7 km belongs in your rucksack.
• Order a cozido if you find one. The regional pilgrim guide considers the Charneca of Coruche a possible origin of one version of the Cozido à Portuguesa, the Portuguese stew of meat, sausage and vegetables.

Where pilgrims sleep

There is no pilgrim hostel. In Fazendas das Figueiras Camino Ninja knows a few private rooms and guesthouses in the countryside, and we have not verified prices. Book ahead. If you would rather stay in Branca, ask at the Junta de Freguesia for a bed (+351 243 606 116).

Onward: along the fences to Santo Estêvão

Tomorrow it is 16.7 km to Santo Estêvão according to Camino Ninja, with Latadas on the way. The Caminho Português Central do Sul follows, according to the regional pilgrim guide of Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo, the Estrada dos Alemães and then gravel and sand tracks along big forestry estates. Later it goes through the Mata do Duque with its villas, across the N119 and close to the Almansor, past horse studs. A short, flat day after a long one.

What awaits you tomorrow

Santo Estêvão, a place where the road ended until the 1950s. It is named after Stephen, the first martyr of the Christians, and in the 16th century the area belonged to the Order of Avis. About three kilometres east-north-east of the village lies a fortified site from the early 13th century.

Deep dive: The land behind the fences

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Fazendas das Figueiras. About 2 minutes' reading.

A village without a history book

Fazendas das Figueiras appears in no travel guide. It is a locality in the parish of Coruche, and at the 2011 census 488 people lived here. For you it is above all the end of a very long day. If you come from Vendas Novas, you have thirty-three kilometres of pines, sand and cork oaks behind you, and the first houses of Branca and Fazendas are a relief.

The estates of the Charneca

What shapes this area are the herdades, the big estates. One of them has almost the same name as the village: the Herdade das Figueiras. In the nineteenth century it was among the biggest rural employers here. In 1949 Gustavo Matos Sequeira entered it in the national art inventory. He described a farmstead in the Charneca of Coruche that had once belonged to Dom Jorge Machado Castelo Branco, and next to the main house a small church, the Ermida Santa Maria. Today the estate is private.

What Fazendas das Figueiras gives you

Tomorrow you walk for hours along fences, behind which lie woods and pasture that do not belong to you. That can be monotonous. Perhaps it helps to think that these very estates fed the people here for generations. And that tonight, after the longest day, you have found a bed where there is really nothing.