Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Portugal's Buçaco Forest Becomes World's Fourth Certified Healing Forest
A forest in Portugal is very special.
It is called Buçaco Forest.
Grown-ups from Germany checked it and said it helps people feel better.
So they gave it a special badge: the world's fourth 'healing forest.'
A healing forest is a calm place where people can walk, relax, and get stronger.
Monks started planting this forest over 300 years ago.
They built a big wall around it, and many of its trees came from faraway places like Mexico and Japan.
Long ago, a big battle happened there too.
Now, the people who take care of the forest hope it will also become a UNESCO World Heritage place.
Buçaco National Forest in Portugal was named the world's fourth 'therapeutic forest' by Germany's Healing Forest – International Certification Office on 17 July.
The certification, valid through 2031, makes Buçaco the first certified healing forest on the Iberian Peninsula, joining two German sites and one in Austria.
The 105-hectare, walled forest near Coimbra holds more than 250 species of trees and shrubs, many brought back by Portuguese sailors during the Age of Discovery.
Discalced Carmelite monks shaped the landscape from 1628, building a five-kilometre perimeter wall and cultivating the site as a secluded 'Desert' for prayer.
The Fundação Mata do Bussaco, which manages the forest, now aims for UNESCO World Heritage status for the site.
- Who
- The Germany-based Healing Forest – International Certification Office granted the certification, and Gonçalo Breda Marques, president of the Fundação Mata do Bussaco, welcomed it.
- What
- Buçaco National Forest became the world's fourth certified 'therapeutic,' or healing, forest.
- When
- The certification was granted on 17 July and runs through 2031.
- Where
- Luso parish, in the municipality of Mealhada, Portugal, about an hour and twenty minutes south of Porto.
- Why
- The forest met certification criteria including shelter from noise and wind, trails of varying difficulty, dedicated therapeutic activity areas, and structured programmes run by qualified forest therapists.
- Certification
- World's fourth 'therapeutic forest'
- Certifying body
- Healing Forest – International Certification Office (Germany)
- Date granted
- 17 July, valid through 2031
- Area
- 105 hectares
- Location
- Luso parish, Mealhada municipality, Portugal (near Coimbra)
- Tree and shrub species
- More than 250
- Palace hotel
- Commissioned by King Carlos I in 1888, opened as a hotel in 1911
- Next goal
- UNESCO World Heritage status