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I rarely object to doing the identical trail again and again,” commented the local guide, kneeling near a cluster of plants. “Every visit, you’ll find new things – these were not in this spot the day before.”

Rising on stalks no less than 2cm high and adorning the soil with white petals, the reality that these delicate blooms appeared overnight was a striking testament of how rapidly nature can develop in this hilly, central area of the Algarve, the public forest of Barão de São João.

It was also encouraging to learn that in an region ravaged by blazes in September, varieties such as arbutus trees – which are flame-retardant because of their low resin content – were beginning to bounce back, alongside highly combustible eucalyptus, which impedes other fire-resistant trees such as oak. Volunteers were being enlisted to help with ecological restoration.

Visitor Numbers and Interior Interest

Visitor numbers to the Algarve are rising, with this year recording an increase of over two percent on the prior year – but the majority guests head straight for the coast, even though there being far more to experience.

The coastline is certainly wild and dramatic, but the area is also enthusiastic to highlight the appeal of its inland areas. With the establishment of year-round walking and mountain biking paths, plus the introduction of nature festivals, focus is being drawn to these similarly compelling landscapes, featuring mountains and thick forests.

The Algarve Walking Season runs a series of multiple guided walk programs with general topics such as “aquatic elements” and “archaeology” between late autumn and the end of winter. It’s hoped they will encourage explorers year round, boosting the regional economy and helping stem the tide of young people leaving in search of opportunities.

Creativity and The Outdoors Merge

Our visit to the national forest overlapped with a weekend festival with the subject of “art”, focused on the traditional community to the northwest of Barão de São João.

Along with guided hikes, starting at the local hub, free events extended from mastering how to make plant-based dyes, to performance sessions, tai chi and sketching. There were several photo displays available together with a number of other child-friendly pursuits, such as nature hunts and making seed dispensers.

Prior to our informal afternoon screen-printing class at the local venue, our walk into the woods with Joana had the atmosphere of an sculpture walk. Marked at the outset by monoliths decorated with representations of local farmers, it was studded throughout the path with compact, permanently placed stones showing instances of fauna, featuring hedgehogs and lynxes – the lynx’s numbers increasing, because of a rescue facility situated in the fortified settlement of Silves.

Picturesque Paths and Wild Splendor

As the path wound up to its highest point, the menhir (monolith) on the Pedra do Galo trail, it became more thickly wooded with the aromatic fragrance of pine. There was a fullness to the breeze and hard, golden-colored droplets bulged from wood. Chalky rock shone on the ground and minute toads perched by water’s edge, necks pulsing. In the background, windmills rotated against the blue expanse.

Francisco Simões, our guide the following day, was again enthusiastic to point out that these upland regions can be experienced in every season. Signposted trails, created in recent years, are branches of the Via Algarviana, a path that runs from the border with Spain for 186 miles, all the way to the ocean, and many are now connected to an app that makes wayfinding even easier.

Nature Tourism and Cultural Opportunities

Francisco set up sustainable travel company Algarvian Roots in a few years ago and offers activities from birdwatching to all-day guided hikes, all with the identical objectives as the AWS: to showcase the area by way of immersion, enlightenment and local understanding.

The art connection is here, too – his family member, potter Margarida Palma Gomes, had instructed us to paint azulejos, the characteristic cerulean and ivory glazed tiles observed all over the land, previously on a festival workshop. Tours to her atelier, along with to a local potter, can also be arranged through Algarvian Roots.

Francisco encouraged us to contribute for the industry by drinking ample amounts of quality vintage capped with cork

Subsequent to an delicious midday meal of pork cheek and cabbage in A Charrette in Monchique, a charming upland village nestled between the Algarve’s most elevated summits, the tall Fóia and 774-metre Picota, Francisco guided us down sharply stone-paved lanes and into a side lane, where an older couple relaxed in the sun at the entrance of their residence.

A inclined track led us into the woods, the terrain strewn with tree seeds. In this location, Francisco was keen to introduce us to oak trees, Portugal’s national tree and conserved under regulation since the medieval period. Not only are they inherently slow-burning, but their pliable covering is a means of livelihood for residents, who collect it to market to other {industries|sectors