Grutas da Moeda

The magical stories and legends of Grutas da Moeda Of limestone origin, the Grutas da Moeda are located in the central region of the country, just two kilometers from Fátima and approximately 12 kilometers from the Grutas de Mira de Aire and are the setting for one of the countless legends of Central Portugal. They were discovered by chance, but it is not by chance that they deserve a visit. The magic of this “inside world” is as great as the stories that surround it. The legend of the coin tells that two criminals were preparing an attack on a wealthy man who was traveling through the woods with a bag of coins. To get his money, they ended up killing him and throwing his body into a cliff – the entrance to the cave. Both the man and the bag fell into the well, and the coins were lost forever. They will still be found today in what were then known as the Grutas da Moeda, perhaps at the bottom of the lake or camouflaged among the dozens of stalactites and stalagmites that cover the galleries. The area we can visit today was discovered in 1971 by two hunters who were chasing a fox. It is a 350 meter route at a depth of 45 meters, with a constant temperature throughout the year that is around 18ºC. They started by discovering a room (the one called and today titled the “Shepherd's Room”), but they soon revealed many other rooms, galleries and passages, which today have curious names such as the Nativity Room, the Red Dome Room, the Imperfect or even that of the Red Vault. All of them are marked by the mixture of calcite with clayey materials, which gives them a reddish color. However, the most beautiful areas of Grutas da Moeda will be those bathed by clear and crystalline underground waters, namely Lago da Felicidade, Algar d’Água, Cascata, Marítima and Fonte das Lágrimas. A new legend says that luck will reward everyone who throws their coin into these lakes – why not try it? In addition to visiting the Grutas da Moeda, you can take the opportunity to go and visit the Scientific-Environmental Interpretation Center, where you can observe and learn more about a wide variety of fossils and minerals and understand how these were formed in the many caves of the center of Portugal.