![]() See itĪ middle-of-nowhere agriturismo, or farm stay, is the way to go, with the galo (cockerel) as your wake-up call. And if more temptation is needed, you’ll find it in the food: the Alentejo dishes up Portugal’s finest produce: from smoky porco preto (black pork) to seafood, almonds, olive oil and full-bodied red wines. A self-devised trip wings you from one pretty marble town and medieval city to the next in this quietly lovely region. The low-key town of Odeceixe and Moorish castle-topped Aljezur are enticing stop-oversĪlentejo is a lovely region for an escape © Andrea Pistolesi / Getty Images Alto AlentejoĪ perfect place to escape, the Alentejo takes up a hefty chunk of the country with its gold-brushed plains, big skies, cork oak forests and gently rolling hills ribbed with vines and olive groves. Dunes fizz into big rollers at lagoon-side Praia da Bordeira, while cliffs plunge to a generous curve of golden sand at Praia da Arrifana, just north. From here, inch slowly up the coast, stopping at Praia do Castelejo, where fishers cast into the spindrift of the roaring Atlantic, the chilled hippy surf town of Carrapateira and nearby Praia do Amado. ![]() Launch your south-north drive at the lonely headland of Cabo de São Vicente, where razor-edge cliffs mark Europe’s most southwesterly point. Much of the coast forms part of the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina, a nature reserve protecting coastal wetlands, marshes, rock formations and cliffs impressively eroded by wind and water. Plot a road trip to remote coves, dune-flanked nature reserves and sickle-shaped beaches of butterscotch sand that bear the full brunt of the Atlantic. The Serra da Estrela: exploring Portugal's "star mountain" West coast Algarveīeyond the big resorts on the Algarve’s south coast, the west is where you’ll find true wilderness and a proper get-away-from-it-all feel. Or venture further west to Seia for rural lodgings and a visit to the Centro de Interpretacão da Serra da Estrela, giving the inside scoop on exploring the park. ![]() See itĪ pretty gateway is Manteigas, right in the heart of the park, with sulfur-rich hot springs and walking trails that twist past terraced meadows and shepherd’s huts. It tops out at 1993m (6539ft) Torre, mainland Portugal’s highest point. Unfurling over 888 sq km (343 sq miles), the Serra da Estrela Natural Park is the country’s largest and oldest protected space. You’ll need your own wheels to tackle the tortuous, hairpin bend-riddled drives that deposit you at the foot of wind-battered crags, highland pastures and sheer-sided valleys wooded with sweet chestnut and holm oak. With trails threading into the wild blue yonder of the country’s highest mountains, this is off-the-beaten-path Portugal at its most rugged and spectacular. Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela is the country's largest and oldest protected space © Elena Estelles / iStock via Getty Images Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela Peneda, with its domed peak, pilgrimage church and ruined Moorish castle, makes a great base for the Trilho Castrejo, a 17km (11 miles), seven-hour loop striking out along some of the park’s oldest footpaths. It’s a terrific place for hiking, with glacially eroded mountains rolling to wildflower prairies, waterfalls dropping to deep ravines, and wild horses grazing the savannah. It’s easy to give civilization the slip, especially in the lesser-visited north of the park, accessed from the Lamas de Mouro gateway. ![]() With so much unperturbed nature here, ibex, deer, wild horses and Iberian wolves find plenty of hiding places. ![]() The landscapes are phenomenal, with granite mountains rising above oak and pine forests, mountain streams carving up valleys and eyrie-like villages and espigueiros (granaries built on stilts) perching atop hillsides overlooking terraced fields. If you want off-grid isolation, this 703-sq-km national park, tucked away in Portugal’s far north, is the stuff of dreams. Portugal aims to welcome visitors with open post-lockdown arms this summer, with plans in the pipeline for an “air bridge” that will hopefully mean quarantine-free travel come July.įorget the package-tour resorts, the real appeal of the country lies in its wild, thrillingly remote places: from granite mountains where you can hike from one sun-bleached village to the next, to raw, rugged coastlines shaped by the tempestuous Atlantic, here are a few off-the-beaten-path Portugal destinations. ![]()
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