Living in a State of Emergency and not being able to play golf we have started to explore a couple of walking trails along the Guadiana river. Algarve is full of trails, some of them are documented in “guide to walking trails in the algarve” published by Algarve Tourism Board. The different trails are well explained with distances, topographic profile, scenery and comments and you find hikes to satisfy all levels.

Spring is beautiful, the weather is perfect with temperatures between 17- 20 °C but with risk of rain showers, however the rain rewards the surroundings with greenery and all kinds of colorful flowers. It is recommended to have proper shoes because the trails goes mostly over gravel roads and tough terrain, we also brought our own picknick that was consumed when we came to a suitable location with a panoramic view but when lockdown is over you can find local restaurants and cafes in the villages along the trails.

The first trail we closed in the book is “Flow, Flow… Guadiana”, has the start and finish in Laranjeiras in the municipality of Alcoutim and measures around 9 km with some steep hills but with rewarding views over the landscape and Guadiana. From the high points of the trail you overlook the river Guadiana, it’s possible to see a varied fauna of olive trees, almond trees, carob trees, holm and pine trees as well as thyme, rosemary, broom, lavendel, etc. of different variaties. The first two pictures shows the trail but divided in before and after the coffee break, start and finish in Laranjeiras and the rest speaks for itself.

The second trail is called “A Window on the Guadiana”, start and finish in Azinhal in the municipality of Castro Marim and measures around 7 km and not too much of climbing but with very nice sceneries with Guadiana in the background. When walking the trail the view overlooks the river Guadiana and the adjacent hills and valleys with rained orchards and occasional trees and lots of flowers.