THE FABLED MEGALITHS OF PORTUGAL

Portugal was a huge surprise for me. I don't know why, but I'd essentially expected some standard European holiday, and instead it turned out to be an incredibly beautiful country that delighted me with every kilometre of the way. Whether it was the cities or the wild west coast, I thoroughly enjoyed it all. But today I want to write to you about one inland surprise. It was a mysterious place full of megalithic stones.

You'll find this place, Cromeleque dos Almendres, near the town of Évora. There are 95 megalithic stones here in all, dating right back to the ancient Neolithic era. The whole site is said to have been dedicated to a sun cult, and it's poetically nicknamed the "hill of stone amphorae". An incredible seven thousand years or so ago, simple farmers and herders raised these giant stones here. You'll find this silent sanctuary in the middle of cork-oak groves, where everything falls quiet. A truly peculiar atmosphere reigns here — one of calm and yet of tension, the tension of a sacred place. I stroll slowly among the stones, wondering what it must have looked like here so very many years ago.

As you weave among the dozens of standing stones, you feel as though you keep discovering ever new nooks, each looking different from the last. The stones form various strange groupings, and it's a little like being a giant walking among the great houses of some stone city.

You'll find many people here in a kind of meditation, trying to tune in to ancient energy nodes. Don't expect the enormous rock formations of world-famous Stonehenge. But some of the stones reach heights of around two metres. More than their size, it's their number and arrangement that are striking here. On some of them you can still faintly make out old ornaments or carvings.

Tip 1: Give yourself plenty of time for this beautiful place. You might plan a picnic here to enjoy in the nearby oak grove. This place really deserves to be a little "lived in" — not just rushed through with a camera in hand before driving off again. Wait until there are as few tourists as possible, then simply sit and take in the magic of the place.

Tip 2: There are more places like this in Portugal, so if you feel like it, you can certainly carry on discovering megalithic structures.

Gear: And what's the photography like at this place? Beautiful, of course. As long as you're not unlucky and there aren't too many tourists — which probably doesn't happen much anyway — this place is genuinely photogenic. No doubt many keen land artists would love to wait here until nightfall and then light the stones up in some dramatic, colourful way, but I had no time for such experiments. All I can recommend is shooting from below, so the height of the stones stands out even more. And if you're as lucky with gorgeous weather as I was, it'll all come together effortlessly. Naturally I couldn't resist a few panoramic photographs, so don't forget to bring a lens of around 35mm and a tripod (ideally with a panoramic head).