The Sanctuary of Peninha is situated in the Sintra Mountains in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. It stands at an altitude of 448 metres on top of a rocky outcrop, which provides views over the coastline and inland areas. In addition to a baroque chapel, completed in 1710, the location contains the Palace of Peninha, which dates from 1918 and remains of a hermitage. The interiors of neither the chapel nor the palace can presently be visited.
What makes hiking here special is the unpredictability of the weather conditions in this region and the incredible ruins and hidden structures you can find there. The Ermida Peninha and its sanctuary is one such site to be found.
The Peninha hills had been the location for a small hermitage ever since the foundation of Christianity in Portugal. Evidence of the physical foundations of a medieval hermitage can still be seen and archaeological excavations carried out by the Sintra–Cascais Natural Park uncovered a necropolis made up of graves excavated in the rock, with burials dating from the end of the 12th century, together with a cistern dug into the rock. The Hermitage of San Saturnino was built on the site in the mid-sixteenth century, added to in the seventeenth century and used by monks until the dissolution of the monasteries in Portugal in 1834. It was still occupied by farmers until the 1960s when it passed to being used as a barn.
The site became popular during the rule of King John III of Portugal (1521 – 1557) as one where the Virgin Mary appeared to a young shepherdess. Following earlier attempts to build a chapel after the vision, the present Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Penha was constructed by the monks around a century after the apparition, with financial assistance from King Dom Pedro II and was completed in 1711.
Given its altitude of 448 metres and difficulty of access, visiting the sanctuary became a form of penance, as well as a popular pilgrimage site for sailors’ families, who would both pray for the safe return of the sailors and try to see returning ships from the summit, which gives visibility out to sea of up to 50 kilometres.
How to get there: Peninha is close to Malveira da Serra (mid-way between Sintra and Cascais). From Sintra, take the N9 south towards Cascais for about 6km and turn right onto N9-1 towards Malveira da Serra. After about 7km, turn right on to the narrow Caminho dos Fetos and continue for another 2.5km. Take a right at the crossroads and after 1.3km turn right to the Peninha Chapel parking area.
