Tojal

Tojal is a small locality on the Serra de Aire plateau, in the Santarém district. Its name derives from tojo, the Portuguese word for gorse, with the suffix -al indicating a place covered with or defined by gorse scrubland. This toponym is common across Portugal wherever gorse and heath vegetation covers the terrain.

The locality sits on the open limestone plateau of the Serra de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park, in a landscape of gorse, lavender, and low scrub on shallow soils above the limestone bedrock. The terrain is exposed and windswept, with wide views in all directions.

For pilgrims on the Camino Português, Tojal falls on the highest section of the route, where the serra plateau gives the Camino its most remote and elemental character before the descent toward Coimbra.