INTERACTIVE MONTADO CENTER OPENING

Portel opened its newest cultural and tourist landmark, The Interactive Montado Center, a space designed to reveal the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the Montado while highlighting the global relevance of this unique ecosystem.

The center offers an immersive technological journey through the richness and biodiversity of the Montado — a living landscape where cork oak forests embrace the vast waters of Alqueva. Visitors are invited to explore the Montado in Portugal and around the world through interactive experiences that combine innovation, environmental education and cultural heritage.

The Interactive Montado Center aims to make visible the importance of this forest ecosystem at local, national and international scales, positioning Portel as a reference point for understanding and valuing the Montado.

A highlight of the opening is the presentation of a site‑specific installation by artist Isa Magalhães, created as an iconic welcoming piece for the space. The work includes an immersive virtual reality experience, allowing visitors to enter a sensorial narrative inspired by the Montado’s textures, rhythms and ecological interconnections. The installation reinforces the center’s mission: to merge art, technology and environmental awareness in a single, transformative experience.

The Interactive Montado Center opens its doors with the promise of becoming a landmark for visitors, researchers, schools and all those interested in discovering — and preserving — one of Portugal’s most emblematic landscapes.