I visited the Convent of Christ in the portuguese city of Tomar on the 13th of oct,2024.

I entered the convent early in the morning exactly at the moment when a big american tourist group left their bus and had the same goal....I was totally surrounded by those elderly american tourists so that I missed the ticket counter and entered the area without paying the admission fee. I feared for the worst ....a totally overcrowded tourist place....but the convent is huge. Therefore after fleeing from that group with its loud guide by just skipping the first two rooms I had the luck to be alone in almost all rooms for the next 30-40 minutes.

The convent is huge,very huge. I needed some time to find my way forth and back as I didnt follow the official route as I urgently needed a coffee after around 10 minutes of my visit there,and the cafe is quite far away from the entrance gate.

Anyway! After having had a coffee and a pastel de nata I went to the adjacent garden as I heard some strange noise from there. To my surprise, I encountered large groups of people dressed in medieval clothing with crossbows. It turned out that on that day in various places in the outdoor area of ​​the various gardens and the adjacent castle with its gardens (there is direct access between the castle and the convent, but it was not passable for normal visitors)
 a competitive shooting took place with crossbows on various targets. What a pleasant surprise! 

The entire convent resembles more of a military fortress than a convent,but the need for defence against the Moors required a more robost architecture.

I spent almost 3 hours inside the labyrinth-like castle monastery.....and had a great time there. I had a second coffee at the convent's cafe,watched the competitors shooting their crossbows,wandered from room to room,enjoyed the views from the towers or viewpoints. 

I then left the Templars' convent of Christ and headed for the adjacent castle where I spent another 30 minutes to walk along its walls,watch the crossbow shooting,took some pics and enjoyed the sun.

Then I decided to take a closer look at an essential part of the convent: its water supply. In the garden of the convent you can see the aqueduct quite clearly. I followed the aqueduct to its accessible part: Aqueduto do Convento de Cristo - Troço Pegões Altos.

It took me about 25-30 minutes on foot to reach the direct access to the aqueduct. The first 10 minutes along the road to the left, slightly up from the main entrance of the convent, then onto a well-marked and beautiful hiking trail. At the gate entrance to the accessible part of the aqueduct a man played a sound instrument...magical...I was the only visitor to the accessible part of the aqueduct. I then walked about 100 meters along the aqueduct, but the wind was relatively strong despite the sunshine and I was walking with a plastic bag with a jacket and a water bottle. You can walk about 1km over the aqueduct, but it is not safe....there is no safety parapet.....one wrong step means death.....my plastic bag swayed too much due to the wind...I finished the crossing....nevertheless a magical place...I took a few photos...walked down the trail to the other side of the accessible part and then returned to the convent.

All in all I spent almost 5-6 hours in the convent,its adjacent castle and on the way to the accessible part of the aqueducto and back to the convent. Great experience! Just be careful while walking on the aqueduct!!