Portugal Guide: Cork Trees

Portugal, cork trees, Alentejo

The picturesque cork lined road to Cromeleque dos Almendres [prehistoric monoliths].

Cork is big business here, providing 60% of the world's corks, that's 15,000,000,000 a year. It's used not only for stopping up bottles but also for flooring, footwear, car engine gaskets and more.
These Cork Oak trees grow for 25 years before their first cut, then they are stripped again every nine years, but this eco-friendly business is under threat from the spread of plastic, increasingly popular because in never 'corks' the wine.
This gorgeous lane leads to the country's biggest group of prehistoric standing stones, the Cromeleque dos Almendres, not far from Evora.

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