Case study · Bombarral · Mata Municipal
The forest that tells itself.
Município do Bombarral and SERTEC integrate NaviLens in the Municipal Forest, the “Rota dos Gigantes” and the Municipal Garden: trail markers, themed panels and tactile botanical labels read by voice in 42 languages, without altering the woods.
Bombarral
Municipal Forest — Rota dos Gigantes
Full trail
Markers, panels and labels with NaviLens
PT · EN · 42 languages
Multilingual voice readout
SERTEC
Technical integration and installation
The client
Município do Bombarral
— SERTEC
The Município do Bombarral, in Portugal's Oeste region, manages the Municipal Forest and its “Rota dos Gigantes”, the Municipal Garden and a network of panels and labels that tell the flora, fauna and heritage of the territory. A destination that combines nature tourism with culture around Buddha Eden and Bacalhôa.
Technical partner SERTEC integrates NaviLens with the existing signage: graphic production, installation on markers and posts, maintenance and training of Tourism staff. The result is a homogeneous accessible layer that extends across the Forest, the trails and the garden without any works or electronic infrastructure.
The project is backed by municipal contract no. 48/2023 “Acquisition and Installation of Configurable NaviLens Codes” within the Bombarral4All programme (published on Base.gov.pt, 2023; accessibility statement on cm-bombarral.pt; sertec.pt/navilens).
§ The challenge
Let the forest speak.
- 01
Nature, without screens
The Municipal Forest of Bombarral is a Mediterranean wood with cork oaks, oaks and night wildlife. No screens, no audioguides: just panels in Portuguese and English and tactile labels with braille. For any visitor who could not read those languages or had low vision, much of the forest narrative was missing.
- 02
A trail with many stops
The “Rota dos Gigantes” walks through the most singular trees of the forest, with themed panels —birds, night butterflies, shrubs— and mid-height botanical labels. Each stop needs a short, audible, multilingual explanation without altering the existing display.
- 03
Accessible tourism in a rural region
Bombarral, in western Portugal, welcomes national and foreign visitors (ES, EN, FR, DE, NL). The Município wanted to make its natural heritage accessible without installing electronic infrastructure in the middle of the forest —respecting the environment and requiring no on-site technical maintenance.
§ The solution
NaviLens stickers at every stop.
SERTEC installs NaviLens codes on white trail markers, themed panels (birds, butterflies) and tilted botanical labels with braille. The visitor points NaviLens GO from several metres away and hears the forest information in their language.
The layer coexists with classic QR and existing braille, requires no power or network, and stays as a high-contrast sticker —respecting the natural character of the Forest and the botanical heritage of the “Rota dos Gigantes”.
§ Timeline
From garden to forest.
- Concept
Município do Bombarral + SERTEC
Município do Bombarral, together with technical partner SERTEC, decides to add NaviLens to the network of trails, gardens and information panels of the municipality. SERTEC handles technical integration, graphic production, installation and training of Tourism staff.
- Rollout
NaviLens codes on markers and labels
NaviLens codes are installed on “Rota dos Gigantes” markers, tactile botanical labels, themed panels (Aves da Mata, Borboletas Noturnas) and at the entrance to the Municipal Garden of Bombarral. Each code coexists with the classic QR and braille inscription.
- Today
An accessible, multilingual forest
The visitor points the phone camera at a colourful Tetris-like code and hears, in their language, the species name, description and trail details. The information arrives even before reaching the panel.
§ Walk-through
Key points along the trail.
Marker · Rota dos Gigantes
White sign with NaviLens
The white marker of the “Rota dos Gigantes” combines the wooden directional arrow with a large, centred NaviLens code. When pointed at, the walker hears the trail name and the section's directions in their language.
Panel · Night butterflies
Borboletas Noturnas da Mata
Next to the themed panel “Borboletas Noturnas / Night Butterflies”, a post with a NaviLens code lets you listen to the panel intro and the species list without having to read each printed text block.
Panel · Aves da Mata
Aves da Mata / Birds of the Woods
The “Aves da Mata” panel is accompanied by a side NaviLens label with the code clearly visible. The voice reads the intro and lets you navigate species (tit, robin, great spotted woodpecker…) in any of the 42 supported languages.
Botanical label
Carvalho-cerquinho / Portuguese oak
Next to the centenary cork oak, the tactile botanical label with braille and the classic QR are complemented by a NaviLens code on the post. The description of the Carvalho-cerquinho —Quercus faginea— is heard while touching the relief leaf.
Botanical label
Gilbardeira / Butcher's-broom
The tilted botanical labels of the trail —“Gilbardeira / Butcher's-broom” with braille, illustration and QR funded by Turismo de Portugal— add the NaviLens code in the corner, extending voice readout to 42 languages.
Walk
Main trail of the Forest
Along the main path of the Municipal Forest, small NaviLens markers flag the points of interest. The walker points from several metres away without leaving the trail or approaching each panel.
Municipal Garden
Entrance — Jardim do Bombarral
On the wooden pergola at the access to the Municipal Garden of Bombarral, next to the SERTEC sign, a NaviLens code welcomes visitors and describes the services, opening hours and accessible routes of the garden.
§ Results
A forest for everyone.
Readable trails
Each stop of the Rota dos Gigantes read aloud in 42 languages
Accessible label
Common, scientific name and description heard instantly
No infrastructure
Just high-contrast stickers, no screens or cabling
§ What they said
“As visitas a parques devem prever uma experiência para Todos! O Município do Bombarral continua a integrar os melhores princípios de acessibilidade e neste caso ampliou a sua ação na magnífica Mata dos Gigantes. Criámos um conjunto de placas multiformato, suportadas por estruturas acessíveis, que transmitem informação essencial sobre uma parte das «Gigantes», árvores centenárias.”
“Contrato de Aquisição e Instalação de Códigos NaviLens Configuráveis, no âmbito do projeto Bombarral4All — Município do Bombarral.”
§ And your destination?
Your destination can also guide in 42 languages.
Tell us about your routes, offices, monuments or galleries. We’ll show you how NaviLens would make your offer accessible —with comparable cases.
