The Bahblog

I've wanted to go to the Algarve region for years and was a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out how we'd spend our time there. March isn't the best month for a beach vacation, nor did we really want one at this point. However, I really wanted the chance to take in the beauty of the Algarve region so I started researching hikes. We haven't gone on any hikes during this trip and we've missed it. We planned to hike to the top of Table Mountain, but a group of nine tourists were mugged along the same trail just a couple days prior (it was also very hot on the day we were going to hike).

During my research I came across the Seven Hanging Valleys hike, from Praia da Marinha to Praia de Vale Cente. The pictures were beautiful, there were no reports of muggings along the trail, and the weather forecast was perfect so we did it.

The hike was wonderful. The coast consists of a lot of limestone and, over time, rainwater erodes the limestone creating caves and sinkholes. The scenery was unlike anything I've ever seen. The first hour of our hike was rather slow because we stopped to take so many pictures.

We saw quite a few sinkholes and they were fun to look down (from a distance). You could also see many caves along the shoreline.

After passing Portuguese Buddy (see below) and a lighthouse we made it to Praia de Vale Cente, the end of the hike.

We ate our packed PB and J sandwiches while sitting on a bench looking out over the coast. Probably the best PB and J sandwich I've ever had.

One of the most famous caves along the route is the Benagil cave. We stopped at Benagil beach on the way back and decided to do a 30 minute boat ride to the cave. It was absolutely worth it.

The boat actually went inside the cave and then we went around to some nearby caves.

The tour company loads passengers onto the boats near the top of the beach, so our return boat ride involved going full speed at the shore. Some bodies went flying on top of each other but everyone walked away in one piece.

We got back to Praia da Marinha a little before five. The hike was an intermediate level and took us about 5.5 hours to complete (including the 1 hour for the boat ride, according to the sign the average is 6 hours, not that I'm keeping track...). The trail was well-marked, pretty linear in fashion, and had breathtaking views. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.