Story
The story of Boca do Inferno
Stand at the railing and watch the sea rush into the rock below: this chasm is called Boca do Inferno, Hell's Mouth, because of its shape and the fearsome force of the waves that hit it. The cliff is made of carbonate rock. Rainwater carrying dissolved carbon dioxide slowly dissolves such rock, hollowing out caves inside the limestone.
It is quite possible that this was once a cave whose roof collapsed, leaving a huge cavity open to the sky. The sea keeps wearing away at the ancient rock, sending up white spray and making the chasm ever larger. This spot has an early place in film history: in 1896 a British film, A Sea Cave Near Lisbon, made by Henry Short, showed the waves breaking here, and it was the first cave ever shown in moving pictures.
It is also famous as the place where the British occultist and poet Aleister Crowley staged his fake suicide in September 1930.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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More highlights in Cascais
- Citadel of CascaisThe Citadel of Cascais is a set of fortifications built between the 15th and 17th centuries to defend the Cascais coastline and River Tagus estuary and to protect against attacks on the capital of Portugal, Lisbon.
- Casa das Histórias Paula RegoThe Casa das Histórias Paula Rego ("House of Stories Paula Rego") is a museum in Cascais, Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera, designed by the architect Eduardo Souto de Moura to house some of the works of the artist Paula Rego.
- Guincho BeachPraia do Guincho is an Atlantic beach located on Portugal's Estoril coast, 5 km from the town of Cascais, and is located in the municipality of Cascais, more precisely in the parishes of Cascais e Estoril and Alcabideche, in the District of Lisbon.
- Fort of São Jorge at OitavosThe Fort of São Jorge is located on the coastal highway EN 247, near the Oitavos dunes, in the parish and municipality of Cascais, Lisbon district, Portugal.
- Guia LighthouseThe Guia lighthouse is an active Portuguese lighthouse located at Cabo da Guia, about 2 km west of the centre of Cascais. It is an octagonal tower in white masonry with a red lantern that has a range of 18 nautical miles.
- Santa Marta LighthouseThe Santa Marta Lighthouse is situated to the south of the centre of Cascais, Lisbon District, Portugal, on the estuary of the River Tagus, providing a light for the Cascais Bay and for the town's new marina.