About Beckford’s Waterfall
Beckford’s Waterfall is really a pair of attractive man-made or man-modified waterfalls within the Park and Palace of Monserrate.
This is a fairly popular historical site a bit further to the west of the well-touristed attractions in and around the town center of Sintra.
The pair of waterfalls focused upon on this page are situated within the garden area on the way to the Palace of Monserrate after getting through the admissions area of the complex.
The falls are man-made features because they drain a man-made pond situated in between the spillover parking area and the main parking area (see directions below).
By the way, this stream also harbored another waterfall situated right before the main car park and main entrance to the Monserrate complex.
Even though I’m generally not a fan of man-made or man-modified waterfalls, I think the history and scenic allure of the grounds comprising the Park and Palace of Monserrate were enough to have a page about this place.
A Brief History of Monserrate
The waterfalls are merely a backdrop to the main attraction of the Palace of Monserrate, which is a Moorish-style retreat that saw its beginnings in 1540 and eventually became part of the Parques de Sintra in 2000.
Friar Gaspar Preto ordered the construction of the hermitage to dedicate it to Our Lady of Monserrate after having been inspired by the monastery of Montserrat across the Iberian Peninsula near Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
However, the current form of the property exhibiting a style of Romanticism was brought about when a British trader named Gerard of Visme ordered the construction of the current form of the palace after the devastation from the Lisbon Earthquake in 1755.
When British writer William Beckford became the tenant of Monserrate in 1794, he commissioned works on the building and its gardens during his years here.
His efforts attracted foreign visitors, which included Lord Byron, a poet who publicized Monserrate in a poem called “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”.
In 1863, a British trader and art collector named Francis Cook took over the Estate of Monserrate, and during his time, he commissioned the construction of the palace that became the centerpiece of this complex.
Inspired by a combination of Gothic, Indian, and Moorish aspects of his travels, both the palace and the gardens pretty much took on the shape that we were able to witness upon our visit.
Indeed, the palace itself really reminded me of a smaller version of the Real Alcázar de Sevilla as well as the Palace of Nazaries in the Alhambra in Granada (both Moorish sites in Southern Spain).
Our Visit of Monserrate
After getting through the admission and ticket check area, we pretty much followed one of several paths that explored the extensive garden area (featuring church ruins, ponds, and lots of forest).
However, the Beckford’s Waterfall was a mere 150m from the entrance though it only got to the top of the falls, which was gated off and closed during our visit so we didn’t have any shots from up there.
Continuing another 150m downhill then veering to the right, we then found ourselves in front of the attractive main upper drop of the falls seen across the pond and plunge pool named Lake Hippocrene.
Just a few paces further downstream of Lake Hippocrene, we noticed a smaller rock-walled lower waterfall draining this pond, and after continuing another 200m further downhill past more ponds, gardens, and a detour to a cafe, we got to the palace.
The palace itself was compact, but it had enough rooms that were photogenic enough to compel us to try to be patient with other visitors, especially on the ground floor, which featured a corridor-lined Moorish atrium.
Overall, we spent about 90 minutes away from the car though we really took our time here to cover the minimum 1km or so distance that we walked.
We easily could have spent even more time here as we didn’t even fully explore the garden complex that included the Ornamental Lakes, the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, and the Mexican Garden.
In any case, we visited the Palace of Monserrate before settling in on the Sintra Centro knowing that this place was a bit out-of-the-way compared to the other signature Sintra sights within walking distance or a short taxi ride.
Indeed, these Sintra sites included the likes of the whimsical Pena Palace, the Great Wall of China-like Moorish Castle, the National Museum of Sintra, and the gothic Quinta da Regaleira among others.
Authorities
Beckford’s Waterfall is within the Park and Palace of Monserrate near Sintra in the Lisbon Region of Portugal. It is administered by Parques de Sintra. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Parques de Sintra website.
Beckford’s Waterfall resides in the Park and Palace of Monserrate west of the well-touristed town of Sintra.
There are options for coming here whether it be by bus/taxi or by self-driving.
I’ll describe the directions for driving here, but you can also take the bus or taxi from Sintra Centro (I found some details of the logistics of getting there without wheels here).
Assuming you drive from the public parking and train station in Sintra Centro, the easiest way would be to drive south then west on the N249 eventually becoming the N375.
It’s only about a 7.5km drive, but you have to realize that the authorities may close the roads within Sintra Centro to public traffic during the daylight hours due to congestion and pedestrian traffic.
Even though this drive should only take a few minutes, it can take upwards of 30 minutes or more depending on the congestion situation as well as closures.
Also note that the N249 is one-way going west most of the way from Sintra Centro eventually becoming the N375 beyond the Quinta da Regaleira.
Therefore, you’ll have to go all the way to Monserrate before driving to the N247 at São Sebastião before heading east on the N247 back towards Sintra Centro.
In fact, the less stressful route to drive to Monserrate from Sintra Centro would be to take the N247 drive in reverse.
This is a 12km drive taking typically around 30 minutes or less, and you can take the N249 north towards the N247 west towards the roundabout with the N247 going west of here.
Along the N247 west beyond São Sebastião, there were signs pointing the way to Monserrate, and we wound up following the signs as it deviated from the N247 and then went up the narrow lanes towards the car parks for the property.
For context, Sintra is about 29km (about 30 minutes drive) northwest of Lisbon, about 18km (under 30 minutes drive) north of Cascais, 330km (over 3 hours drive) south of Porto, and 320km (over 3 hours drive) north of Lagos.
Find A Place To Stay
Checking out both tiers of the waterfall with some shaky walking in between
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
