ALGARVE Tread Portugal’s wildest corner

With flower-filled meadows, rocky coastline and wildlife-rich deltas, the Algarve is an all-year round walkers’ paradise…

With its rocky coves, sculpted bays and creamy sands, the Algarve has become a haven for beachseeking tourists in Portugal. But sun, sea and sand isn’t the complete picture here – much wilder corners lie within.

The Algarve’s rich interior tapestry of flower-filled meadows, gouging valleys, whitewashed villages and castle towns are left largely unspoilt. It’s an unhurried way of life here, and one that can be enjoyed by travellers – and especially walkers – at any time of the year thanks to a countryside streaked with hiking trails that stretch the region’s length and breadth.

Coastal tracks

The watery fringes of the Algarve’s western edge is truly wild. The Vicentina Coast has been a protected Natural Park since 1995. A wealth of walking routes – both long-distance and shorter trails – vein the area, collectively known as the Rota Vicentina; these shepherd visitors through its wild terrain and history. One route in particular, the 230km-long Historical Way, shows more than most. It traces the old route of the Catholic pilgrims who walked from the Cape of St Vincent on Portugal’s south-western tip to Santiago de Compostela in Spain – the alleged burial site of apostle St James. The Way ‘only’ goes from the Cape to Santiago do Cacém, but its 12 stages can be tackled individually for bite-size walks. Each has its own charm, whether spying migrating birds from the clifftops of Sagres or wandering the herding plains between Odeceixe and Aljezur.

Shorter trails offer an easier-to-manage glimpse of this stretch of coastline. The circular Trail of Aromas (14km) loops the floodplains of the Ribeira da Bordeira and scrub forest peppered with wild boar, buzzards and mongooses, the scents of wildflowers and herbs fragrance your every step. Alternatively, the Trail of Tides (19km) winds along the beach before dipping into the riverine Vilarinha Valley, a favourite with birds such as greenfinches and short-toed eagles.

Riverine routes

Straddling the Spanish-portuguese border runs the Rio Guadiana, a river whose floodplain has created a fertile landscape that ranks among the finest found across the Iberian Peninsula – lush rolling hills, plump almond trees bursting with blossoms each spring and frontier towns that have traded everything from gold to leather.

This setting makes for an interesting sketchbook of scenery to walk, with the 65km-long Grande Rota Guadiana (GR15) covering its best views, from upland plateaus to rugged coastline. It begins in the orange trees and grid-like avenues of Vila Real de Santo António, a town modelled on Lisbon’s Baixa district. Then up it heads into Castro Marim, once a key fort along Portugal’s south coast, though much of its history has been lost; the ruins of its 13th-century castle are all that survived the devastating 1755 earthquake.

For birdwatchers, make sure to visit in winter – birds such as greater flamingos, white stork and black-winged stilt flock to the salt marshes of the nearby Natural Reserve of Sapal. From there, the route winds past several villages up to Alcoutim, a pretty river port on the banks of the Guadiana that everyone from the Greeks to the Romans had a hand in shaping. The result is a charming fortified hillside town with twisting cobbled

⊳ lanes and squares flanked by cafés filled with chatter. If you time your visit here for April, you’ll be joined by hundreds of other ramblers who come to Alcoutim to celebrate their favourite pastime at the town’s annual Walking Festival, where a series of organised walks are paired with activities like boat cruises along the Guadiana and birdwatching trips in the natural surrounds.

Like the Vicentina coast, there are bite-size strolls here forging deep into the wild. The 13.5km-long Ladeiras do Pontal trail begins in spectacular fashion atop the Miradouro do Pontal viewpoint, which overlooks the Guadiana and its bubble-wrap hills before descending past vineyards, rows of cork oaks – Portugal produces around half the world’s cork – and sweeping bird-rich valleys.

Other walks, such as the Amendoeira (11km) and Terras da Ordem (12.5km) trails, encapsulate the varied surrounds, snaking through reedbeds, riverine valleys and pine forest, while Venta Moinhos (7km) shoulders salt marshes and freshwater lagoons home to spoonbills, avocets and white storks.

From east to west

For a truly all-encompassing view of the Algarve’s many natural faces, the regionspanning Via Algarviana (GR13) is a 300km walk that really gets under the skin of arguably Portugal’s most misunderstood region. Like Guadiana, it’s one of the continent’s Grand Routes, meandering from Alcoutim in the east to the Cape of St Vincent in the west, taking in forest paths, open countryside and historic villages in an area where the quiet wilds are a world away from the louder coastal resorts of the south. Its roots lie in religion, and this trail was once walked by pilgrims making a beeline for Sagres Point, a south-western promontory where the remains of Iberian deacon St Vincent were said to have lain.

The route is steeped in archaeological heritage, too, passing time-honoured chapels, windmills and ancient buildings that still survive today. A case in point is the ancient Islamic Portuguese capital of Silves; here the red-sandstone fortifications, castle and mosque-turnedcathedral make a refreshing change from the whitewashed villages that pepper the Algarve landscape

The streets are lined with orange groves and natural wonders abound, particularly in the Monchique mountain range. From the peaks of Picota and Fóia – the latter the highest in the Algarve – you can soak up spectacular panoramas of the surrounding chestnut woods and oak-spotted slopes.

Year-round walks

The height of summer (July and August) may be perfect for chilling on one of the Algarve’s sandy strips, but the sun’s scorching rays can be punishing for those who aren’t used to warm-weather walking. But aside from those couple of months, hiking in the Algarve can be enjoyed all year round. Mid-september to June is seen as the optimum time for walking here, with the weather mild but sunny. Spring is spectacular, too, with the trees plump with blossom, and autumn sees wildlife awaken from a summer-long siesta.

Walking is a pastime locals here are crazy about, and they know its slopes well. The cocktail vibes might be wafting off the beach, but the real party extends across the region in the form of several walking festivals that make up the Algarve Walking Season. The parish of Ameixial joins Alcoutim with an April festival that merges hiking with art exhibitions, food tastings, history talks and traditional music and dance performances. The southern port of Lagos, on the other hand, waits until after the height of summer to run its own festival in November.

So while the sun-seekers pigeon-hole themselves into the scorching summer temperatures, walking truly is an Algarve activity for all seasons. With its mix of rolling countryside, rugged plains and lush riverine valleys, there’s much to explore in this wild and diverse corner of Portugal. So strap on your boots and get out and see it for yourself.