Aljustrel is the hamlet on the edge of Fátima where the three visionary children grew up. It's a short walk from the sanctuary — about 15 minutes south through the newer parts of the town — and preserves the modest stone cottages where Lúcia dos Santos and the Marto family lived in 1917. Both houses are open to visitors and give a concrete sense of the rural poverty of central Portugal in the early 20th century: earthen floors, simple furnishings, tiny spaces.
The Via Sacra (Way of the Cross) connects Aljustrel to the sanctuary through a path that follows the route the children would have walked, passing 14 bronze Stations of the Cross along the way. The path also leads to Valinhos, the meadow where the Virgin is said to have appeared in August 1917 when the children were briefly imprisoned by the local administrator. Even for secular visitors, the walk through the undeveloped countryside between the pilgrimage city and these quiet hamlets is a welcome contrast to the crowds at the esplanade.