Rocha da Pena Escarpment

Photo: Wilrooij, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A 479 metre limestone ridge above Salir with a looping trail, two old windmills and views to the sea on clear days. The Rocha rises like a grey wall out of the Barrocal, and the classified circular trail of about six kilometres climbs through holm oak and wild olive to a summit plateau where a drystone rampart, said to be over two thousand years old, runs along the edge. Raptors ride the updraughts at eye level, and February covers the slopes in wild orchids and almond blossom. On the way down you pass the pair of restored windmills above Penina. Start at the trailhead in Rocha village, take two litres of water in summer, and allow around three hours for the full loop.

Found by Adam

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Viewpoint

Ponta da Atalaia Fisherman's Cliffs

The clifftop headland on the edge of Sagres town where local anglers cast into the Atlantic and the crowds never quite arrive. Between Praia da Mareta and the fishing harbour, Ponta da Atalaia is where Sagres actually meets the sea: bare limestone shelves, low salt-pruned scrub and men with enormous rods standing improbable watch above the swell. The views run west to the fortress promontory and on towards Cabo de São Vicente, and in October the headland is a front row seat for migrating seabirds. Sunset here is calmer and less staged than at the cape itself. Walk out from the harbour road or from Mareta in about ten minutes; stay well back from the undercut edges, as the wind gusts hard and the cliffs are unfenced.

Ruin

Salir Castle Ruins

The rammed earth remains of a 12th century Almohad castle, with village houses built right into its walls. Salir's castle never got the picture book restoration, and that is its charm. Chunks of taipa, the rammed earth the Almohads built with, stand between cottages and vegetable gardens at the top of the village, and you wander through what was once the fortified enclosure on ordinary lanes. A small interpretation centre explains the Islamic settlement that stood here, and the terrace at the top looks across the Barrocal towards the Rocha da Pena. Come in late afternoon when the low sun warms the earth walls, combine it with the Rocha trail or lunch in the village, and expect to have the place largely to yourself.

Swimming spot

Alte Village Springs

The spring pools at the foot of Alte village, where cold water, stone picnic tables and big shade trees make the classic inland picnic spot. Fonte Grande and Fonte Pequena have watered Alte for centuries, and the walled pools and cobbled terraces around them are still where village life happens: christenings, São João festivities and long Sunday lunches in the shade. The stream runs cool even in August, and children paddle in the shallow channels below the weir. Verses by Cândido Guerreiro, the village poet, are tiled onto the walls by the water. Follow the stream path east for ten minutes to reach the small Vinagre waterfall, at its best after winter rain. Park at the edge of the village and walk down; mornings are quietest.

Local secret

Fonte Benémola Springs Loop

A year round stream in the dry Barrocal hills, ringed by a gentle signposted loop walk near Querença. Water is the rarest thing in the Algarve interior, and Fonte Benémola has it all year, welling up through limestone and sliding between willows, poplars and reed beds. The protected valley holds a circular trail of roughly four and a half kilometres, flat enough for children and shaded for much of the way. Terrapins bask on the stones, dragonflies work the pools, and spring turns the banks into a wildflower show. We rate it as the easiest proper nature walk in the central Algarve. Start from the small car park on the Querença side and walk the loop anticlockwise to keep the stream beside you early on.