Busacu ( port. Serra do Buçaco ) - a mountain range in Portugal . The highest point of the massif is Mount Cruz Alta ( port. Cruz Alta ) (545 meters), which overlooks the Mondegu River Valley and the Atlantic Ocean.
On this territory is the Carmelite Monastery, founded in 1628. The decree of Pope Gregory XV (1623) forbids women to be in the monastery. Another decree issued by Pope Urban VIII (1643) threatens to excommunicate those who damage the trees that grow on the slopes of Busaku. The monastery operated until 1834, when, after the Civil War, religious orders in Portugal were abolished and expelled from the country.
Until the end of the 19th century, Busaku became one of the favorite vacation spots of foreigners, especially British tourists, on the way to Lisbon and Port. Built between 1888 and 1907 a magnificent building, conceived as a residence for Queen Maria Pia , the wife of the Portuguese king Luis I , is now located the Hotel Busaco ( port. Palácio Hotel do Buçaco ), which still attracts many tourists and is considered one of the best historical hotels in the world.
In 1873, on the southern slopes of the massif, a monument was erected in honor of the Battle of Busaku (September 27, 1810), in which French troops were defeated by British and Portuguese forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington .