Walking in the Algarve: On the trail of undiscovered treasures and incredible scenery
Algarve Da Algarve To In Hiking Pena The Rocha Wx071224
Walking festivals are becoming increasingly popular around Europe as an ideal way to get holidaymakers away from packed cities and into remote areas often crying out for visitors.
You won’t see demonstrators in these quiet places urging tourists to go home or locals marching against a tidal wave of foreign tourists.
Instead, they welcome outsiders into their area, encouraging them to get out into nature, sample the local culture, and absorb everything the region has to offer.
Such was my experience at the recent Barão de São Walk & Art Fest in the Algarve, just one of several events that make up “The Algarve Walking Season — A Region for Walking All Year Round”.
This local initiative to promote the area in autumn, winter, and spring — it’s often too hot to hike in summer — was originally launched in 2017 but then fell victim to the covid pandemic.
It was restored this year with the aim of attracting 3,000 hikers to “low-density territories” and to “reinforce the attractiveness of the interior”.
The Barão de São Walk & Art Fest is not only intended to show off the beautiful scenery of the Algarve but also to highlight the arts, history, and crafts of the area.
It’s the first time I’ve ever hiked through a wood and come upon a choir in full song.
That was just one feature of this event which is based in the small but pretty town of Barão de São near Lagos, a haven for artists.
Take a stroll around the outskirts of the village and you will see dozens of wooden sculptures, many of them of musicians and singers, made by artist Deodato Inácio Santos. And often carved with humour.
This year’s festival ran from November 1 to 3 and the day we dropped in there were a multitude of hikes to choose from with wonderfully diverse themes: Cork Oak Trail, Panoramic Route Walk, Artistic Path, Forest Therapy Walk, Collective Photo Walk, Walking through the Emotions — Theatre Workshop, Discovering the Neolithic, Nooks in the Forest, and Walking Through the Dark of Night.
We enjoyed a lovely ramble through Barão’s woods where volunteers (the whole festival is run by volunteers) showed us how the invasive Australian wattle tree, originally planted for its quick growing wood, had taken over much of the pine, cork, and eucalyptus forest.
We saw stones with faces and even poetry carved into them.
An hour after setting off we found ourselves sitting around a wooden table under the trees being taught how to weave with palm leaves.
We all walked away with our own, personally made, palm bookmarks: It was more fun than I expected and easy to get the hang of.
Music played a big part in the day. As well as the local choir entertaining walkers, there was a silent disco (“ecstatic dance in the woods”) and the Algarve Youth Guitar Orchestra put on an evening concert in the local church.
The festival had workshops on everything from spray painting and vegan cooking to yoga for kids, creative decorations, and mindfulness.
During my visit not only did we take part in the Barão de São festivities but we also did independent walks and visited some of the region’s lovely towns.
The small city of Loulé is packed with history. Once ruled by Muslim Moors from the 8th to the 13th Century, they left behind the castle, a 12th century minaret — now the belltower of St Clemens Church — and numerous crafts like tile-making and a copper industry.
Call into the new Museo Municipal, which opened in 2022, to see the impressive ruins of a 900-year-old hammam, or bathhouse.
We also visited the busy century-old fish and fruit market and dropped into the city’s last copper craft shop and a small basket-weaving business, Casa da Empreita.
The pretty village of Alte 25km away is one of the Algarve’s most picturesque towns with its whitewashed homes, river, and famous spring. It’s surrounded by orange, lemon, almond, fig, and carob groves.
From there we took an hour’s trail through the Rocha do Pena Protected Landscape, smelling wild rosemary and thyme along the way, to visit an organic farm, Quinta da Freixo, which now offers tourist accommodation with an outdoor pool and an excellent restaurant.
Fifth generation owner Luis Tiago Cabral E Silva has hugely diversified the business from agriculture, livestock, and forestry.
There is also a jam factory and a “fire water” or fruit brandy distillery. There are even eight walking trails on the farm ranging from two kilometres to 16kms.
It would be remiss to visit the Algarve and not visit a winery, so we called into the Villa Alvor vineyard 5km inland from the coast towards the Serra de Monchique mountains for a tasting of its red, white, and rosé wines. It was a fun morning.
And certainly no visit to the Algarve would be complete without a hike or two along its spectacular coastline.
We took in the stunning cliffs around Benagil Beach near Lagoa which has the Algarve’s biggest sinkhole — above the famous Benagil sea cave, accessible only from the sea.
Benagil is part of the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail from Marinha Beach to Vale Centeanes Beach, a spectacular clifftop walk which should not be missed.
The cliffs are broken only by gorges once formed by rivers flowing into the sea from above which are now covered in vegetation, hence the name hanging gardens or valleys.
Along the way you will see stunning strands, magnificent sea stacks, huge cliff holes, and a pretty lighthouse.
You can walk down steps to the idyllic Carvalho Beach where entry is only through a man-made tunnel through the rocks.
We had two bases while in the Algarve, the first the beautiful Pousada d’Estoi just outside Faro, part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World club.
A former 18th century palace, it is the only one of its kind in the Algarve and is rich in architecture. Its unusual reception is in a converted chapel and the pool overlooks the surrounding countryside.
Later we moved to the 5-star Cascade Wellness Resort in a dramatic clifftop setting in Lagos which has apartments and villas as well as gorgeous rooms with sea views.
There’s a huge pool and a spa with an outdoor heated pool, sauna, jacuzzi, and Turkish bath. A walking trail goes right past the hotel which is perfect for adventurers or anyone wanting a stroll before breakfast or dinner.
It’s a wonderful walk and it was our farewell to several glorious days in the Algarve.
Algarve offers a selection of other great walking events over winter including the first ever running from February 7-9, when walkers will be able to rediscover old trails dating back hundreds of years.
is a walking festival in the cross-border region of Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana from March 7-9.
It shows off the area’s natural beauty combining traditional hikes along historic trails with themed routes exploring astronomy, botany and local crafts.
The , April 25-28, was first launched in 2012 to introduce hiking in nature to the Algarve hinterland and now includes walks around history, birdwatching, botany, science and photography.
- Ryanair flies direct to Faro from Cork and Dublin, ryanair.com
- For information on the Algarve Walking Season, see algarvewalkingseason.com
- Barão de São Walking & Art Festival, walkartfest.pt/en
- For more information on the area, see visitalgarve.pt/en/
Its 63 rooms are open year-round with B&B from €108 per night based on two sharing a Classic Room with Garden View.
From €131 per night based on two sharing a one-bedroom apartment or from €178 B&B per night based on two sharing a double.
The resort facilities are closed between 9th December and 1st January
- Our guide around Loulé and to Quinto do Freixo was João Ministro, CEO of Proactivetur, proactivetur.pt
- Quinta do Freixo agri-tourism farm, saia.pt/sobre-quinta-do-freixo/
- Villa Alvor Wine Estate, villaalvor.pt
- For transfers in the region see Pleasant Tours, pleasant-tours.com