Portuguese Cliff Walks Around Cabo da Roca

In English this village’s name means “shriek” or “scream.” If you visit it in winter, it’s not difficult to discover why.

That’s when storms lash the Atlantic Ocean into a fury, waves crash and thunder against the rocks at the base of the cliffs, and the outcry of the wind and the water sounds very much like a wild yell.

Here at Cabo da Roca continental Europe disappears beneath the sea. Ireland and Iceland lie farther west, it is true, but this is the westernmost point on the mainland.

This is the place “where the land ends and the sea commences,” Luis Vaz de Camoes, Portugal’s greatest literary figure, wrote in the 16th Century.

But as wild and uncompromising--and, indeed, dangerous--as Cabo da Roca may be in the winter, summer brings an entirely new character to the landscape. Then it is the sight of one of the most scenic clifftop walks in Europe.

The Portuguese have not encouraged such ramblings, however, and there are no clearly marked trails to follow.

This is partly because of the dangers involved. Loose rock and crumbling ledges can spell trouble, and the unwary hiker can sometimes be caught by surprise by a wave.

There are two ways to get to Cabo da Roca from Lisbon, scarcely an hour away by car. One is a 35-mile drive that winds along the Costa do Sol, or Sunshine Coast, and passes through such resorts as Estoril and Cascais.

Those who choose this route will discover the Boca do Inferno, or “Mouth of Hell,” between Cascais and Guincho.

In a cliff about 60 feet high the sea has pounded out some caves, and the waves echo and roar in and out of them with an awesome sound and fury.

The second route, about the same distance, is over the coastal range and takes in the beautiful town of Sintra.

Most visitors reach the 472-foot high tip of the cape and its centuries-old lighthouse by tour bus or rental car, and spend half an hour or so photographing the cliffs before picking up a certificate to attest that they were there.

Some walk about a hundred yards to get a perspective on the Cabo da Roca monument and its white cross facing out to sea.

The base of the monument carries the words of Camoes quoted above.

It was poignant to find the inscription here. I had just visited the Convento dos Jeronimos de Belem in Lisbon, where the Camoes sarcophagus shares a place beneath the organ loft with that of explorer Vasco da Gama, who led the expedition around Africa to India in 1498.

Cabo da Roca and Cabo Raso a little way to the south were among the last signs of land seen by Portuguese sailors who set out to explore the world in the 15th and 16th centuries under the urging of Prince Henry the Navigator. They were also the first of their homeland to greet returning voyagers.

I climbed down a rocky ledge a short distance to better hear the sound of the surf. On a stormy day it might well be a shriek, but now all I heard was the cry of swallows circling overhead.

Returning to the lighthouse, I searched a road that would take me north along the cliffs. Eventually I found a faint footpath a short way inland amid a tangle of wildflowers and cactuses at the head of a canyon.

A short scramble up the canyon’s far side led to a continuation of the path. It ended, however, at a crest that provided another dramatic view of the lighthouse and the sea beyond. There, the cliffs rose from the surf like fortress walls.

I returned to the road to search for a second path. I found it within a hundred yards, deeply rutted, strictly for hikers, four-wheel-drive vehicles or mountain bikes.

I was alone on the road as it dipped and then ascended the upper reaches of another canyon, afterward winding around a corner and disappearing as it rose above the cliffs.

This was a wide wildflower trail. Waves of white, golden and purple blossoms rolled off in all directions. At the top the view of the coast toward Cabo da Roca was magnificent, rock formations sculpted by the wind and the waves.

From there the cliff walk continued north toward another canyon, and far beyond it I could see the misty outline of a coastal village. But for me it was time to return.

Soon the sun would be sinking into the Atlantic, its last rays painting the cliffs of Cabo da Roca a warm orange and dancing on the waves at the continent’s edge.

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Adventure notes: After its 50-day ski expedition that reached the South Pole last January, Mountain Travel has been putting together some new adventures.

There are treks as short as the nine-day Everest Escapade, through the Himalayan Sagarmatha National Park for four mountain giants--from Ama Dablam at 22,494 feet to Mt. Everest at 29,028 feet, experiencing the Tibet’s Buddhist culture along the way. First departure is Oct. 28. Including air fare from Seattle, the price is $2,945.

For a hiking challenge in the Swiss Alps there’s a 12-day, 120-mile Alpine ramble with ascents and descents totaling nearly 65,000 feet. After each day in such wonderlands as the famed North Face of the Alps, overnights are in a cozy Swiss guest house. Departures in July and August, 1990, are from about $2,325.

One of the longest adventures is offered by Ultimate India, a 52-day trip starting in October, 1990. It begins with rafting and then boating down the Ganges River into the religious and historic centers of India. This trek follows the Ganges for 1,500 miles from its Himalayan source to the Bay of Bengal. Cost will be about $7,200 per person.

For more information, contact Mountain Travel, 6420 Fairmount Ave., El Cerrito, Calif. 94530. Telephone toll-free (800) 227-2384, Ext. 232.

For more information on travel to Portugal, contact the Portuguese National Tourist Office, 590 Fifth Ave., New York 10036, (212) 354-4403.