# Fossil Cliff, Mata dos Medos and Fonte da Telha beach

What to do en Costa da Caparica · Costa da Caparica

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/things-to-do/fossil-cliff-and-fonte-da-telha · Revisado: 2026-11-12

- Duración: 2 h 30
- Temporada: All year; best from October to May
- Para quién: Keen walkers; sand and slopes

18th-century pine wood above a 13 km cliff and a descent to the fishing beach of Fonte da Telha · 2–3 h · Free

Behind the beach, the land rises in a sandstone cliff about 13 km long running parallel to the sea: it is the Arriba Fóssil, an old cliff that the sea stopped battering millennia ago, protected as a landscape since 1984. On top grows the Mata Nacional dos Medos, a pine wood that John V had planted in the 18th century to hold back the dunes and which is now a botanical reserve. The interpretation centre is on the Fonte da Telha forest road.
A good walk joins the cliff edge, with views along the whole coast to Cabo Espichel, with Fonte da Telha, a former fishing settlement at the foot of the wall, where the beach is wilder than in the centre. There are trails of about 6 to 8 km. Without a car, buses 3012 (from Cacilhas) and 3030 reach Fonte da Telha. Do not go near the edge: the sandstone crumbles.

## Cómo llegar y contacto

- Coordenadas: 38.58154, -9.1936

## Cerca de aquí

- [Capuchos viewpoint, above the whole Costa da Caparica](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/things-to-do/capuchos-convent-viewpoint), a 7.6 km
- [TRYP by Wyndham Lisboa Caparica Mar](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/where-to-stay/tryp-lisboa-caparica-mar), a 7.6 km
- [Crowne Plaza Caparica Lisbon](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/where-to-stay/crowne-plaza-caparica), a 7.7 km
- [The beaches of Costa da Caparica, from São João to Fonte da Telha](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/things-to-do/costa-da-caparica-beaches), a 7.8 km
- [O Barbas](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/where-to-eat/o-barbas), a 8.0 km
- [Surf lesson at Praia de Santo António](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/things-to-do/surf-lesson-costa-da-caparica), a 8.5 km
- [Orbitur Camping Costa da Caparica](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/where-to-stay/orbitur-costa-da-caparica), a 8.8 km
- [Cristo Rei Sanctuary, the view of Lisbon from the other side](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica/things-to-do/cristo-rei-almada), a 11.0 km

Destino: [Costa da Caparica](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/costa-da-caparica.md)