🔗 Share this article

“I never object to doing the familiar walk over and over,” stated the local guide, crouching beside a cluster of blossoms. “On every occasion, there are different details – these blooms were not in this spot previously.”

Standing on stalks at least 2cm tall and dotting the dirt with white petals, the fact that these overnight wonders sprung up suddenly was a striking testament of how rapidly life can grow in this undulating, interior area of the Algarve, the national forest of Barão de São João.

It was also comforting to discover that in an area swept by wildfires in the autumn, varieties such as arbutus trees – which are less flammable thanks to their low resin content – were starting to regrow, in proximity to highly flammable eucalyptus, which obstructs other fire-retardant trees such as oak. Volunteers were being gathered to help with reforestation.

Tourist Figures and Upland Interest

Tourist arrivals to the Algarve are growing, with this year recording an increase of 2.6% on the prior year – but most arrivals go directly to the coast, despite there being a great deal more to experience.

The beachfront is undoubtedly rugged and dramatic, but the locale is also enthusiastic to showcase the charm of its interior regions. With the development of year-round trekking and mountain biking paths, in addition to the introduction of nature festivals, attention is being shifted to these just as engaging landscapes, featuring mountains and thick woodlands.

The Algarve Walking Season organizes a set of several walking festivals with broad subjects such as “rivers and streams” and “archaeology” between late autumn and April. It’s hoped they will inspire visitors in every season, boosting the area’s finances and contributing to stem the tide of younger generations moving away in quest of employment.

Culture and The Outdoors Combine

Our visit to the national forest coincided with a cultural gathering with the focus of “expression”, based around the white-washed village north-west of Barão de São João.

Along with organized treks, departing from the community center, complimentary activities extended from mastering how to make natural coloured inks, to theatre workshops, meditative movement and sketching. There were several image galleries on show together with a number of other child-friendly activities, such as nature hunts and making seed dispensers.

Even before our casual daytime art printing session at the local venue, our walk into the woods with Joana had the atmosphere of an art trail. Signposted at the start by upright rocks adorned with images of traditional agricultural folk, it was studded en route with smaller, installed stones showing instances of fauna, featuring hedgehogs and feline predators – the lynx’s community recovering, thanks to a rescue facility situated in the fortified settlement of Silves.

Breathtaking Paths and Outdoor Beauty

As the trail ascended to its peak, the menhir (monolith) on the Pedra do Galo path, it became more densely vegetated with the aromatic fragrance of evergreen. There was a ripeness to the air and solid, amber-hued bubbles bulged from wood. Chalky rock sparkled beneath our feet and minute frogs perched by pond edges, throats vibrating. In the distance, wind turbines spun against the blue expanse.

Francisco Simões, our guide the next day, was again eager to emphasize that these upland regions can be discovered throughout the year. Waymarked hikes, developed in the past few years, are offshoots of the Via Algarviana, a trail that runs from the Spanish boundary for a significant distance, continuously to the coast, and a lot are now tied to an application that makes wayfinding simpler.

Ecotourism and Artistic Activities

Francisco set up ecotourism outfit Algarvian Roots in 2020 and offers activities from wildlife spotting to day-long guided hikes, all with the identical goals as the AWS: to highlight the area by way of immersion, enlightenment and local understanding.

The art connection is here, as well – his family member, potter Margarida Palma Gomes, had guided us to design azulejos, the characteristic cerulean and ivory glazed tiles seen throughout the land, previously on a festival workshop. Excursions to her studio, along with to a area ceramicist, can also be organized through Algarvian Roots.

Francisco encouraged us to do our bit for the sector by drinking generous quantities of quality vintage sealed with cork

Following an delicious lunch of meat dish and cabbage in A Charrette in Monchique, a pretty hill settlement bordered by the Algarve’s tallest mountains, the tall Fóia and 774-metre Picota, Francisco took us down precipitously cobbled streets and into a narrow path, where an senior duo relaxed in the sun at the entrance of their home.

A inclined path guided us into the woods, the terrain scattered with oak nuts. At this spot, Francisco was enthusiastic to point out protected species, Portugal’s emblematic species and conserved under regulation since the medieval period. Besides are they inherently flame-retardant, but their malleable outer layer is a means of revenue for locals, who collect it to trade to other {industries|sectors