Travelling to southern Portugal: Four road bike tours in the Algarve - Road bike tours in the mountainous hinterland of the Algarve
The Algarve is the southernmost region of Portugal and the most south-westerly tip of continental Europe; around 400,000 people live there. The name derives from the time of the Moorish occupation: "Al-Gharb" means "The West" in Arabic. The west of the Algarve, from the south-west tip to Faro, is called "Barlavento", meaning "facing the wind". From Faro to the Spanish border is the "Sotavento" (the side facing away from the wind). Mass tourism has spread along the south coast, especially between Lagos and Faro, and pretty coastal towns can be counted on one hand. That's why we've chosen to take our tours to the much less touristy, wild west coast, the Costa Vicentina and the quiet hinterland. The area between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains is called Barrocal: gently undulating farmland with gardens full of lemons, almonds and oranges. From there, our tours lead (from west to east) to the Serra do Espinhaço de Cão, the Serra de Monchique (where you can climb the highest mountain in the Algarve, the 902 metre high Fóia), the Serra de Caldeirão and, in the far east, the Serra de Alcaria do Cume.
Our tours avoid the busy coastal roads, which often run between tower blocks, industrial estates and brownfield sites. We make a necessary exception with the N268 between Aljezur and Sagres on the Costa Vicentina. There is more traffic there than in the hinterland, but between Vila do Bispo and Sagres there is even something like a cycle path next to the car lane. However, as soon as you reach the hinterland, north of the motorway that runs parallel to the coast, you feel like you're on another continent. Cars can be counted on one hand for hours. The condition of the road surface is sometimes a little rough, but mostly good. Our routes are between 200 and 600 metres above sea level, only at the Fóia summit do we break the 900 metre mark. However, the climbs are sometimes so steep that a mountain transfer is recommended.
