Monte Kardina is a beautiful estate with a tropical garden created in the 1970s by Baron Detlev von Rosen who moved to Portugal from Sweden and eventually became one of the country’s most celebrated agricultural producers. He himself came up with the architectural plan for the house which infuses Palladian architecture with Southern Portuguese cultural influences.

When Baron came to Portugal, Moncarapacho was surrounded by typical Southern Portuguese landscapes — dry herbs and occasional olive trees and wild palms. Together with his wife Eva, Detlev began the garden project by importing and nurturing exotic plants and trees from all corners of the globe. Nowadays Monte Kardina is surrounded by a lush tropical garden with monsteras, rhododendrons, hibiscus, bamboo groves, and vines.