This trail goes through typical villages in the countryside of the municipality of Tavira - Casas Baixas, Alcarias Baixas and Amoreira - and offers panoramic views of the mountains of the Caldeirão. This mountain is particularly important because of the rare Bonelli’s eagle, an iconic bird of prey, whose distribution in southern Portugal has increased.
Casas Baixas and Alcarias Baixas are two villages where schist buildings are still predominant. At every step, you can observe the rural architecture of the mountain settlements. The surrounding holm oaks, olive groves and dryland orchards are a vital part of the economy of these populations.
Leave Alcarias Baixas behind by following a path skirted by dry stone walls. The landscape is dominated by pinewoods and scattered holm-oak forests as well as pastures, with stone corrals at the top of the mountains.
The trail follows along a ravine with a curtain of oleanders, reeds and bulrushes, which heralds the ford of Ribeirão, a tributary of the Ribeira de Foupanilha, further ahead. Here, the slopes are covered with holm oaks, olive trees, wild olives and tall bushes of cistus, common rosemary and green lavender. The thick undergrowth provides for the presence of animals such as wild rabbits, wild boars, foxes and partridges.
The path runs around the Cerro da Amoreira through the north, across an area of stone pines and maritime pines. Here, the ravine of the Ribeirão deepens, and the view extends over the wide valley and the high mountains in the direction of Martim Longo. Centuries-old holm oaks cover the shaded slopes, among tall cistus bushes.
Passing through the picturesque Amoreira hill, the trail follows along ridgelines to the south, offering continuous views of the surrounding mountainous landscape. Near the hamlet of Passa Frio, old windmills and modern wind turbines coexist side by side, in an interesting expression of renewal of knowledge.
Municipality: Tavira
Location: Casas Baixas
Type: walking and cycling
Circular trail: yes
Distance: 9,1 km
Average duration: 3h
Cumulative elevation gain: 334 metres D+
Type of path: dirt paths and asphalt roads
Start of the trail: 37º 20' 35.18'' N 7º 46' 54.87'' W