Authentic Algarve: Discovering Portugal Beyond the Coastline

I don’t object to taking the same hike over and over,” stated our guide, bending beside a cluster of flowers. “Every visit, you’ll find new things – these weren’t in this spot previously.”

Standing on stalks a minimum of 2cm high and starring the soil with white petals, the fact that these overnight wonders emerged in a single night was a striking testament of how rapidly things can grow in this undulating, interior part of the Algarve, the protected woodland of Barão de São João.

It was also comforting to discover that in an zone ravaged by forest fires in September, varieties such as strawberry trees – which are fire-resistant because of their minimal resin – were beginning to regrow, together with highly combustible eucalyptus, which impedes other slow-burning trees such as oak. Community members were being recruited to help with reforestation.

Visitor Figures and Upland Attraction

Travel figures to the Algarve are growing, with this year showing an growth of 2.6% on the prior year – but the bulk of arrivals go directly to the seaside, although there being a great deal more to discover.

The coastline is undoubtedly wild and stunning, but the locale is also eager to showcase the appeal of its inland areas. With the creation of all-season walking and biking paths, plus the launch of nature festivals, interest is being drawn to these equally compelling sceneries, including hills and thick forests.

The Algarve Walking Season runs a set of several guided walk programs with general themes such as “water” and “archaeology” between the start of winter and the end of winter. It’s expected they will encourage explorers throughout the year, strengthening the regional economy and helping stem the tide of younger generations departing in quest of work.

Creativity and Nature Merge

The trip to the wooded reserve fell during a weekend festival with the subject of “art”, centered on the pale-colored hamlet north-west of Barão de São João.

In addition to guided hikes, starting at the local hub, no-cost workshops included learning how to make plant-based dyes, to theatre workshops, meditative movement and artistic rendering. There were two photography exhibitions available as well as several other family-oriented activities, such as nature hunts and crafting wildlife feeders.

Before our informal afternoon screen-printing workshop at the community space, our walk into the woods with Joana had the atmosphere of an creative path. Indicated at the start by upright rocks painted with images of local farmers, it was studded throughout the path with more modest, permanently placed stones showing examples of wildlife, including spiny creatures and wild cats – the latter’s numbers recovering, because of a rehabilitation centre located in the fortified settlement of Silves.

Picturesque Paths and Outdoor Beauty

As the path climbed to its highest point, the menhir (monolith) on the Pedra do Galo walk, it became more thickly wooded with the aromatic fragrance of evergreen. There was a fullness to the atmosphere and firm, honey-toned bubbles protruded from wood. Chalky rock shone underfoot and small frogs rested by pool margins, throats throbbing. In the distance, energy generators rotated against the horizon.

Francisco Simões, the local expert the following day, was again eager to point out that these interior zones can be discovered in every season. Waymarked hikes, developed in the last decade, are branches of the Via Algarviana, a path that extends from the border with Spain for a significant distance, all the way to the Atlantic, and several are now tied to an application that makes wayfinding more straightforward.

Nature Tourism and Artistic Activities

Francisco set up ecotourism outfit Algarvian Roots in a few years ago and offers experiences from wildlife spotting to full-day led walks, all with the same aims as the AWS: to showcase the region by way of involvement, education and cultural awareness.

The art connection is here, as well – his family member, potter Margarida Palma Gomes, had taught us to design azulejos, the characteristic cerulean and ivory decorative panels observed all over the land, two days earlier on a cultural activity. Excursions to her workshop, as well as to a local potter, can additionally be organized through Algarvian Roots.

Francisco encouraged us to do our bit for the industry by enjoying ample amounts of good wine stoppered by cork

After an excellent lunch of meat dish and vegetable in A Charrette in Monchique, a pretty hill settlement flanked by the Algarve’s tallest mountains, the tall Fóia and high Picota, Francisco guided us down precipitously cobbled streets and into a side lane, where an older couple sunned themselves at the front of their house.

A inclined trail took us into the forest, the ground scattered with acorns. Here, Francisco was eager to point out protected species, Portugal’s emblematic species and legally protected since the medieval period. Not only are they intrinsically fire-resistant, but their malleable covering is a source of revenue for locals, who harvest it to sell to other {industries|sectors