Ponte Vale da Ursa
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Location
Ferreira do Zêzere
Dive Type
Recreational, TEK
Dive Site
Dam
Reservoir
Shore Dive
What you will see
Archeological artifacts, Freshwater Life
Average Depth:
15mts
Maximum Depth:
35mts
Water Temperature:
10º-22º
Ponte Vale da Ursa is a special dive spot for the Portugal Dive team because we have been searching this sunken bridge for a couple of years.We had been to the Castelo de Bode Dam twice before, and we couldn’t find the bridge.
Ponte Vale da Ursa, translated from Portuguese “Bear Valley Bridge” was inaugurated in 1885. The bridge was about 20 meters high and was the last section of the Estrada Real (Royal Road) to be built, connecting Tomar to the Sertã municipality.
The construction of this structure dragged on for some years, due to problems with its financing and with the conception of the work itself. Even the inauguration, initially scheduled for November 15, 1884, like our attempts to locate the sunken structure, was delayed twice.
Today, this sunken structure is a fantastic dive, full of surprises, both on the road platform; there’s a car “parked” there, and a small boat, underneath the steel structure that still sustains the platform, or going down close to one of the two pillars that elevate the bridge to over 20 meters high.
-- Photos by Eurico Roseiro
Ponte Vale da Ursa, translated from Portuguese “Bear Valley Bridge” was inaugurated in 1885. The bridge was about 20 meters high and was the last section of the Estrada Real (Royal Road) to be built, connecting Tomar to the Sertã municipality.
The construction of this structure dragged on for some years, due to problems with its financing and with the conception of the work itself. Even the inauguration, initially scheduled for November 15, 1884, like our attempts to locate the sunken structure, was delayed twice.
Today, this sunken structure is a fantastic dive, full of surprises, both on the road platform; there’s a car “parked” there, and a small boat, underneath the steel structure that still sustains the platform, or going down close to one of the two pillars that elevate the bridge to over 20 meters high.
-- Photos by Eurico Roseiro