Fringing the south of the Setúbal peninsula, the serra d da Arrábida (6km across and 35km long, from Cape Espichel to Palmela), is known as the "Costa Azul" (the blue coast). The southern side of the serra drops vertically into the ocean. Its craggy shore, the white and ochre hues of its chalky cliffs, the blue of the Atlantic, its scrubland dominated by pines and cypresses give it a Mediterranean feel. The gentle nortern slopes are a primitive landscape of vines, orchards, olive groves and pines.
