Add a Day of Place
Place-based encounters offered as half-day or full-day additions to existing retreats in Central Portugal.
Why Offer a Day of Place?
Many retreats bring people to beautiful landscapes. Few introduce guests to the stories, rivers, forests, springs, and cultural memory of the place itself.
These encounters grew organically from years of living in a small Portuguese village, through documentary screenings, shared meals, forest walks, river gatherings, and conversations around culture, ecology, and belonging.
What is a Day of Place?
Designed as half-day or full-day experiences for retreat groups visiting Central Portugal, these encounters complement a wide range of retreats, learning journeys, and community gatherings.
Guests leave not only having attended a retreat, but having met the place that hosted it.
Created with local collaborators, artists, storytellers, and community members.
At the River
Where waters meet
At the confluence of the Zêzere, Nabão, and Tejo watersheds, guests are introduced to a landscape shaped by rivers, stories, and centuries of relationship with water. An opportunity to learn from both ancient traditions and present-day cultural landscapes.
Through local narratives, time by the river, swimming, a shared meal, moments for reflection and writing, participants encounter the living waters of Central Portugal and the ways people have related to them across generations, exploring what it means to live in relationship with rivers today.
Location: Fontes (30 min north of Abrantes)
Roots, Springs & Stories
Living waters, local legends, and old trees
This encounter explores a town and surrounding area shaped by its fountains, old trees, and the stories carried between them.
Guests visit historic fountains, encounter one of the region's oldest olive trees, hear local legends, and are introduced to the Portuguese tradition of singing from fountain to fountain — a communal practice once used to honour water and the relationships it made possible.
Along the way, stories, conversation, and reflection invite participants to consider the connections between memory, landscape, and place.
Location: Sardoal (15 min north of Abrantes)
Ancient Paths & Stones
A walk into deep time
A slow walk through cork oak forest, olive groves, and historic pathways, including sections of an old Roman route, toward one of the region’s megalithic sites.
As we move through a landscape shaped by weather, seasons, and generations, we explore what becomes visible when we slow down and listen. Forest, path, and stone offer an invitation into a different experience of time.
Following the walk, guests are invited into a private village home overlooking cork oaks and olive trees, to share a seasonal olive-inspired meal prepared by local chefs of VeganEting.
Location: Ramalhal (25 min north of Tomar)
What Lingers
People often leave carrying
the stories carried by a landscape
time alongside rivers, forests, and old pathways
moments for slowing down and reflection
local culture and cultural memory
beauty, wonder, and participation
simple hospitality and shared conversation
a relationship with place
Voices from the Table
"The day stays with me”
“Three years later I still have the olive twig, the booklet, and the bottle of olive oil. I never received a gift like that before.”
“A lovely experience honoring the landscape, the trees, and our connection to the earth”
“Thoughtful, nourishing, connecting, creative”
"Exactly what I said to my friends: 'Come to this. It's a special experience. It's your kind of thing.' And it was. They loved it."
A Local Host Team
These encounters grew from years of living in Central Portugal and from relationships formed with local communities, artists, storytellers, cooks, rivers, forests, and places of cultural memory.
Hosted by Mónica Walhof together with local collaborators, including Nicolas Salazar of Guardians Worldwide, VeganEting, and other storytellers, river guardians, artists, cooks, and community members who help keep the stories, landscapes, and traditions of this territory alive.
Each encounter emerges from the relationships that already exist here.
Practical Information
Roots, Springs & Stories (Sardoal)
Up to 4 participants — €400
5–8 participants — €500
9–12 participants — €600
Typical duration: approximately 4-5 hours
Ancient Paths & Stones (Ramalhal)
Up to 4 participants — €450
5–8 participants — €550
9–12 participants — €650
Typical duration: approximately 6 hours, including a seasonal lunch.
At the River (Fontes)
Up to 4 participants — €550
5–8 participants — €700
9–12 participants — €850
Typical duration: approximately 10:00-17:00, including a seasonal lunch.
Experiences can be offered in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch, depending on the host team and group requirements.
Larger groups may be possible on request.
To allow time for coordination with local collaborators, meal preparation, and seasonal planning, we recommend enquiring at least 2–3 weeks in advance. Shorter notice may sometimes be possible, depending on availability.
Transport is not included.
Interested in offering one of these place-based encounters to your retreat group?
We'd be happy to explore whether one of these experiences is a good fit for your retreat.
Mónica: (+351) 913 354 231
