The Alentejo plain rolls away from Elvas in every direction, a country of cork oak, olive and wheat, and the little fort of São Pedro stands on a low hill outside the town as one of a ring of outworks around it. Elvas is a town ringed by star-shaped bastions built in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Portugal and Spain fought repeatedly over this frontier, and just across the border lies Badajoz. The fortified town and its outer forts, including the fortlets of São Pedro, São Mamede and São Domingos, were listed by UNESCO in 2012 as the largest dry-ditch fortification system in the world.
The Lines of Elvas saw a great battle in 1659, when a Portuguese army beat a Spanish force that had besieged the town, and in 1812, Wellington's British army stormed the fortress of Badajoz nearby, in one of the bloodiest assaults of the Peninsular War. The Amoreira Aqueduct, with its tall arches, runs into Elvas from the countryside, built over a hundred years from the late fifteenth century, and it is a fine sight at sunset.
For a rider, the Alentejo is a place for long, quiet roads. The surface is smooth, the bends are gentle, and traffic is light, with storks nesting on poles and church towers, and flocks of sheep under the cork trees. In summer, the heat is formidable, with temperatures above forty degrees, and the plain shimmers, so start before dawn and finish early. Spring brings green fields and wildflowers, the best moment, and autumn has soft light and the cork harvest has just finished. The border with Spain is open and unmarked, so you may cross without noticing, apart from the clock, because Spain is an hour ahead of Portugal.
Elvas has fuel and supermarkets, and is famous for its sugared plums, Ameixas d'Elvas, and for a rich pork stew with the local olive oil. A town of ten thousand has plenty of places to eat, and Badajoz, across the border, is a city of nearly 150,000 with a big range of shops. The ride list continues to Alange, a small spa town in Extremadura where the Romans built thermal baths that are still in use.
A cold drink in the main square, under the arches, is the best way to end a hot day.