Genuine Algarve: Exploring Portugal Away from the Coastline

I don’t mind taking the same walk over and over,” remarked the local guide, kneeling beside a group of flowers. “Each time, you can spot fresh discoveries – these flowers weren’t here yesterday.”

Growing on shoots a minimum of 2cm high and dotting the ground with snowy flowers, the reality that these delicate blooms appeared overnight was a beautiful demonstration of how swiftly things can develop in this hilly, interior area of the Algarve, the protected woodland of Barão de São João.

It was also comforting to discover that in an zone ravaged by wildfires in September, types such as strawberry trees – which are fire-resistant thanks to their reduced sap – were beginning to bounce back, together with highly flammable eucalyptus, which obstructs other fire-retardant trees such as oak. Local helpers were being enlisted to assist with reforestation.

Traveler Numbers and Upland Interest

Visitor numbers to the Algarve are growing, with 2024 showing an rise of 2.6% on the prior year – but the majority guests make a beeline for the coast, despite there being so much more to explore.

The coastline is undoubtedly untamed and breathtaking, but the area is also keen to showcase the charm of its upland zones. With the creation of year-round walking and biking trails, plus the launch of ecological celebrations, interest is being shifted to these equally captivating vistas, showcasing peaks and thick wooded areas.

The Algarve Walking Season runs a series of five guided walk programs with broad themes such as “rivers and streams” and “archaeology” between late autumn and the end of winter. It’s expected they will inspire visitors throughout the year, boosting the local economy and aiding slow the exodus of the youth moving away in pursuit of work.

Culture and Nature Combine

The excursion to the national forest overlapped with a two-day event with the subject of “expression”, based around the white-washed hamlet to the northwest of Barão de São João.

Along with guided hikes, departing from the local hub, no-cost workshops extended from discovering how to make natural coloured inks, to theatre workshops, meditative movement and drawing. There were two photography exhibitions on show together with a number of other family-oriented pursuits, such as botanical explorations and crafting seed dispensers.

Even before our drop-in daytime printmaking workshop at the community space, our hike into the forest with Joana had the atmosphere of an sculpture walk. Signposted at the beginning by monoliths decorated with depictions of rural workers, it was dotted throughout the path with smaller, fixed stones showing examples of animals, such as spiny creatures and lynxes – the lynx’s numbers recovering, due to a rescue facility located in the fortified settlement of Silves.

Scenic Trails and Wild Charm

As the route ascended to its highest point, the menhir (monolith) on the Pedra do Galo path, it became more lushly forested with the aromatic fragrance of conifer. There was a fullness to the breeze and hard, amber-hued bubbles swelled from bark. Chalky rock glistened on the ground and minute toads perched by pond edges, vocal sacs vibrating. In the distance, wind turbines cartwheeled against the sky.

Francisco Simões, the tour leader the following day, was once more eager to highlight that these inland areas can be explored throughout the year. Waymarked hikes, created in recent years, are offshoots of the Via Algarviana, a trail that extends from the frontier for a significant distance, the entire route to the coast, and many are now connected to an digital tool that makes wayfinding more straightforward.

Sustainable Travel and Local Experiences

Francisco established nature tour operator Algarvian Roots in a few years ago and provides experiences from avian observation to full-day guided hikes, all with the similar goals as the AWS: to highlight the locale by way of immersion, learning and traditional knowledge.

The artistic element is present, also – his family member, artist Margarida Palma Gomes, had guided us to design azulejos, the distinctive blue and white decorative panels observed across the land, a couple of days before on a cultural activity. Visits to her atelier, as well as to a regional artist, can also be scheduled through Algarvian Roots.

Francisco advised us to play our part for the industry by consuming ample amounts of quality vintage stoppered by cork

After an superb midday meal of meat dish and greens in A Charrette in Monchique, a pretty mountain town bordered by the Algarve’s most elevated summits, the 902-metre Fóia and 774-meter Picota, Francisco led us down sharply historic roads and into a narrow path, where an senior duo sunned themselves at the entrance of their residence.

A steep track took us into the forest, the earth strewn with acorns. At this spot, Francisco was eager to introduce us to protected species, Portugal’s symbolic plant and safeguarded by law since the 1200s. Not just are they intrinsically fire-resistant, but their flexible outer layer is a source of revenue for inhabitants, who collect it to sell to other {industries|sectors