Via Algarviana SECTOR 1
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| ALCOUTIM - BALURCOS (24.2 Km) | ||||||||||||||
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Alcoutim is the starting point of the Via Algarviana. There, the walker finds a peaceful village with a strong relationship with the river, which was, a long time ago, the stage of historical battles and occupations of ancient peoples like the Romans, the Visigoths or the Muslims. Nowadays, this small town still keeps remains of those times, especially its castle, a popular place for tourists. Besides the beautiful view over the river Guadiana which may be enjoyed from here, this place shelters a small archaeological museum with many art pieces found during excavations in this area. The river beach of the deep Pêgo located approximately 500m away from the centre of Alcoutim, is another attraction of this small town, being the only one of its kind in the Algarve and one of the best equipped in Portugal. At the beginning, the Via Algarviana traced its outline along the Guadiana on a plane and low level path on which one can appreciate the beauty of the valley where the big water stream runs through. The ecological importance of this river resulted in its classification as a Place of interest for Conservation by the Natura Network 2000 because of the existence of endemic fish species, endemic plants and natural habitats in its affluents. The landscape is characterized by rural areas of dry farming (with almond, fig and olive trees) which mostly have been abandoned. The path crosses numerous typical villages of the region, namely Cortes Pereiras, Afonso Vicente or Corte Tabaleão. In this first sector, the walker has the opportunity to visit some archaeological monuments, in particular the megalithic set at Lavajo, formed by various carved menhirs in graywacke, one of them with a length of 3,14m (the largest known in Portugal). The arrival in the village Aldeia de Balurcos de Baixo marks the end of the first sector.
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