Nature & history
The Island
Three clusters of granite, ten kilometres off Cabo Carvoeiro. Only Berlenga Grande can be visited. All of them are sanctuary.
Small enough to know in a day
- ~1.5 kmlong
- 800 mwide
- ~79 haof pink granite
- ~300million years old
- No trees and almost no shade.
- Two deep channels almost cut it in two, setting the wilder Ilha Velha apart.
- The Estelas and Farilhões-Forcadas are closed to visitors.
- All around: the marine reserve, considered the richest underwater habitat on the Portuguese coast.
What lives here
One of the most important seabird sites on the Iberian coast.
Seabirds
About a thousand pairs of Cory's shearwaters, plus gulls, shags and a pair of peregrine falcons.
Endemics
Three plants found nowhere else on Earth, and the Berlenga wall lizard underfoot.
Below the surface
Kelp and granite reefs, dozens of fish species, and common dolphins passing by.
Rodent-free since 2018. Stay on marked trails, take nothing, check your bags for seeds.
