Two and a half leagues from Alenquer and facing north, lies the mountain range that today is called Montejunto. In ancient times it was called Monte Sacro, and also Monte Tagro… It was named after a single pile of stone, or a single stone, rather than a mountain range.
—Frei Luís de Sousa (17th century)

 

Serra de Montejunto is part of the Montejunto-Estrela System and belongs to Maciço Calcário Estremenho*. It is the highest natural viewpoint in Estremadura, with 666 meters of altitude.

From a geological point of view, it is mainly made up of limestone rock, visible in the steep valleys, small plateaus, imposing cliffs and scarps. The limestone rock has an enormous capacity for absorbing rainwater, creating an abundance of sinkholes, caves and residual ponds.

From a climatic point of view, the area where this pre-industrial complex was installed had the best conditions for the production and conservation of ice: facing the Atlantic coast, it suffers the direct and intense action of the oceanic winds, wet and icy, which influences water circulation, vegetation and the morphology of the territory itself.

Finally, its strategic location: about 60 kilometres from Lisbon, the Royal Ice Factory established important industrial, economic and social links between Serra de Montejunto, the Tagus estuary and the capital.