Add a Day of Place to your Gathering
Place-based encounters offered in Central Portugal
Who is it for?
For people bringing others together—through retreats, learning journeys, weddings, choirs, and other gatherings—who are curious about what the place itself might contribute. And for their guests who want to discover something about the landscape that is hosting them.
Today this is offered in the wider Tomar & Abrantes regions in Central Portugal.
Why Offer a Day of Place?
Day of Place offers an opportunity to meet the rivers, springs, forests, stories, and local communities that have shaped this landscape over generations.
Not as an excursion, as another part of being here.
As an organizer you create particular spaces for learning, reflection, connection and renewal. A Day of Place does not seek to alter or replicate that work. It offers another door,an opportunity for the landscape itself to become part of what your guests encounter here.
How a Day of Place Unfolds
Every gathering is different. Some begin beside a river. Others around a spring, an old olive tree, or along an ancient path.
The day may include walking, local stories, shared food, conversation, quiet moments of reflection, and meeting people whose lives remain deeply connected to the place. There is no fixed script. Only a practice of paying attention.
We leave a little more slowly than we arrived.
A half-day or full-day in relationship with place can become part of what we carry home— as another thread in the experience of being here.
Perhaps they return home noticing the old tree beside their own road. Perhaps they listen differently to a local stream. Perhaps they become curious about the stories of the place where they live.
The retreat has its own journey. This is simply another door into the place where we are.
Places to Begin
Every landscape begins a different conversation.
Each day introduces you to a particular landscape in Central Portugal. Each gathering is an invitation to join one of the conversations that have been unfolding here for generations.
One Day
1. Where waters meet
How do rivers introduce themselves?
At the Zêzere river, guests are introduced to a landscape shaped by rivers, stories, and centuries of relationship with water.
Through local narratives, swimming, a shared seasonal lunch, and moments for reflection, participants encounter a living water of Central Portugal and explore what it might mean to enter into relationship with a river today.
Location: Fontes (30 min north of Abrantes)
2. Roots, Springs & Stories
How does a place remember?
A town shaped by 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 ancient Portuguese tradition of singing from spring to spring— a communal practice once used to honour water and the relationships it made possible.
Along the way, stories, conversation, and reflection invite participants to notice the connections between memory, landscape, and place.
Location: Sardoal (15 min north of Abrantes)
3. Ancient paths & stones
What becomes visible when we walk more slowly?
A slow walk through cork oak forest, olive groves, and historic pathways, include 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)
Four Days
4. Rivers & Springs & Village Life
What becomes possible when there is time?
Over four days beside the Zêzere, its springs, and the stories these waters continue to carry, participants are invited to linger, return, and experience the different rhythms of river and source. Swimming, shared meals, storytelling, quiet moments, and time spent together allow relationships—with place, with one another, and with the waters themselves—to unfold at a slower pace.
There is space to discover the culture, stories and relationships that make this place what it is. Each gathering is shaped by the season, the people we meet, and what the place offers that day.
Location: Fontes, Sardoal & surrounding area
What Lingers
A day can stay with us in unexpected ways.
Standing in a river. Listening to a spring. Crossing one stone at a time. Hearing a story carried by place.
Day of Place offers your gathering another way of meeting the place where it unfolds — through walking, listening, stories and direct experience.
A Local Host Team
These encounters grew from years of living in Central Portugal and from relationships with local communities, artists, storytellers, cooks, rivers, forests, and places of cultural memory.
Hosted with local collaborators, including storytellers, river guardians, artists, cooks, Guardians Worldwide, VeganEting, and community members who help keep the stories, landscapes, and traditions of this territory alive.
Each encounter grows from the relationships that already exist here.
Practical Information
If you're unsure where to begin, we'd be happy to help you find the gathering that best suits your group.
ONE DAY
1. Where waters meet …
How rivers gather us
Approximate duration: 7 hours, including a seasonal lunch.
4 - 6 participants: €70 per person
7–12 participants: €60 pp
2. Roots, Springs & Stories
How communities remember.
Approximate duration: 4-5 hours
4 - 6 participants: : €35— pp
7–12 participants: €25— pp
Lunch in town together, not included in price
3. Ancient Paths & Stones
What becomes visible when we walk more slowly?
Approximate duration: 6 hours
Available for groups of 6–12 participants: €30 pp
includes vegan lunch in a village home.
FOUR DAYS
4. Watersheds, Stories, & Everyday Life
What becomes possible when there is time?
Approximate duration: Four days, three nights
4 - 8 participants: €200 per person
Meals are paid individually.
Accommodation is booked separately: €85, €90 or €120 per night, depending on available cottage.
Transfers upon request.
Quinta do Chaparrinho is a charming holiday accommodation in Fontes (municipality of Abrantes). “It’s typically offered as a self‑contained rental, ideal for travellers seeking a quiet countryside base — with access to a kitchen, private outdoor space, and barbecue facilities. The property is conveniently located within walking distance of the Praia Fluvial de Fontes, a popular riverside swimming spot, and provides easy access to outdoor activities and surrounding natural areas. Its relaxed, rustic setting makes it a good choice for small groups, couples, or families looking to explore this scenic corner of central Portugal.”
Booking Information
Available in English, Portuguese, Spanish (depending on the host team)
Please enquire 2–3 weeks in advance to allow time for seasonal planning and coordination with local collaborators.
Transport, accommodation and meals are not included unless otherwise stated.
Around 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."
If one of these conversations feels like it belongs in your gathering, we'd be happy to hear from you.
Mónica / Q
(+351) 913 354 231
