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“I never object to doing the familiar hike again and again,” commented our guide, kneeling beside a patch of flowers. “On every occasion, there are different details – these weren’t present the day before.”

Growing on stalks a minimum of a couple of centimeters tall and starring the ground with pale blossoms, the fact that these star of Bethlehem flowers appeared overnight was a remarkable proof of how swiftly nature can regenerate in this rolling, inland area of the Algarve, the public forest of Barão de São João.

It was also encouraging to learn that in an area ravaged by blazes in the autumn, species such as arbutus trees – which are fire-resistant thanks to their low resin content – were beginning to regrow, alongside highly inflammable eucalyptus, which obstructs other fire-resistant trees such as oak. Local helpers were being recruited to participate with rewilding.

Traveler Figures and Inland Appeal

Tourist arrivals to the Algarve are growing, with 2024 showing an rise of 2.6% on the prior year – but most visitors head straight for the beach, although there being far more to experience.

The beachfront is undoubtedly rugged and dramatic, but the region is also eager to highlight the attraction of its inland areas. With the establishment of year-round trekking and biking trails, plus the introduction of nature festivals, interest is being shifted to these equally compelling landscapes, including mountains and lush woodlands.

The Algarve Walking Season organizes a set of multiple hiking events with general themes such as “water” and “ancient ruins” between the start of winter and early spring. It’s expected they will encourage tourists year round, boosting the area’s finances and contributing to stem the tide of young people leaving in quest of employment.

Art and Wilderness Blend

Our visit to the protected parkland overlapped with a cultural gathering with the theme of “expression”, centered on the white-washed hamlet in the northwest of Barão de São João.

As well as guided hikes, departing from the community center, no-cost workshops included discovering how to make plant-based dyes, to drama classes, tai chi and drawing. There were a couple of photography exhibitions on show plus a number of other kid-focused pastimes, such as botanical explorations and making seed dispensers.

Before our casual midday printmaking workshop at the cultural centre, our walk into the forest with Joana had the atmosphere of an creative path. Signposted at the outset by upright rocks painted with depictions of local farmers, it was decorated throughout the path with compact, installed stones depicting examples of fauna, including spiny creatures and wild cats – the lynx’s population reviving, thanks to a conservation center based in the fortified settlement of Silves.

Scenic Paths and Wild Beauty

As the trail wound up to its highest point, the menhir (monolith) on the Pedra do Galo walk, it became more lushly forested with the resinous scent of conifer. There was a richness to the air and solid, golden-colored droplets protruded from wood. Calcareous stone glistened on the ground and minute toads rested by pool margins, throats pulsing. In the distance, windmills rotated against the sky.

Francisco Simões, the local expert the subsequent day, was similarly enthusiastic to point out that these inland areas can be experienced in every season. Signposted trails, developed in the past few years, are extensions of the Via Algarviana, a path that runs from the border with Spain for a significant distance, all the way to the Atlantic, and many are now connected to an app that makes wayfinding simpler.

Sustainable Travel and Local Activities

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

The art connection is evident, too – his parent, artist Margarida Palma Gomes, had taught us to design azulejos, the characteristic traditional colored glazed tiles observed throughout the nation, previously on a event class. Tours to her workshop, as well as to a regional artist, can also be arranged through Algarvian Roots.

Francisco encouraged us to play our part for the industry by enjoying generous quantities of quality vintage sealed with cork

Subsequent to an superb lunch of pork cheek and vegetable in A Charrette in Monchique, a pretty hill settlement flanked by the Algarve’s most elevated summits, the 902-meter Fóia and 774-metre Picota, Francisco guided us down precipitously stone-paved lanes and into a side lane, where an older couple sunned themselves at the doorstep of their residence.

A inclined trail took us into the forest, the ground covered in acorns. In this location, Francisco was enthusiastic to show us protected species, Portugal’s national tree and conserved under regulation since the 1200s. Besides are they naturally fire-resistant, but their flexible outer layer is a source of livelihood for inhabitants, who collect it to trade to other {industries|sectors