Mountain biking in Portugal
| country: | Portugal |
| location: | Alentejo |
| price: | From £531 (7 days) excluding flights, depending on season. Includes 2 meals and 6 pack lunches |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This trip is based on diversity. The route takes in trails of different levels of difficulty- more rolling than technical- between the coast and the interior of the country. All week long you will explore and enjoy trails near the sea; you will go through dales of cork oaks and through the mountains which separate the Alentejo from the Algarve: all this with superb views.
On this trip our team will always be there for you. We allow for flexibility you can request a change in the program, or even try a day at another activity such as abseiling, horse riding, or surfing. The biggest advantage of our rural situation in the Natural Park is the number of deserted tracks for traffic free cycling. We cycle up to approx 50km each day.
The Alentejo is an extensive region covering almost a third of Portugal. It stretches from the river Tagus flowing out of Lisbon in the North; to the Algarve hills in the South. In the East the Alentejo shares a border with Spain, and to the West it opens onto the Atlantic Ocean. Essentially rural and sparsely populated, it offers a landscape that is uncommonly well preserved. To see our location, please click on the map on the right.
On this trip our team will always be there for you. We allow for flexibility you can request a change in the program, or even try a day at another activity such as abseiling, horse riding, or surfing. The biggest advantage of our rural situation in the Natural Park is the number of deserted tracks for traffic free cycling. We cycle up to approx 50km each day.
The Alentejo is an extensive region covering almost a third of Portugal. It stretches from the river Tagus flowing out of Lisbon in the North; to the Algarve hills in the South. In the East the Alentejo shares a border with Spain, and to the West it opens onto the Atlantic Ocean. Essentially rural and sparsely populated, it offers a landscape that is uncommonly well preserved. To see our location, please click on the map on the right.day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Milfontes – Peach Tree Island - Milfontes. This is the longest of the 6 day adventure on the Alentejo and Algarve soil. The loop is 54 Km in total with medium level of physical and technical difficulty. It contains 2 principal types of terrain – the first sector is made up of sand tracks and rocky trails and the second part after lunch is mainly sand tracks. The start and finish is from our guest house in Milfontes. One of the hardest days! 48 Km with the majority of tracks of clay and loose rocks with sections of granite based single track. | |
| Day 2: | Odemira – Pego das Pias – Odemira. The bikes and riders are transferred from their guest house to the river quay in the county town of Odemira (20 minutes). The ride starts by the river in the centre of town where it would appear time has stood still. After lunch an easy trail takes us up to Capelinha through cork oak woods winding along the valley floor. On arriving at Hortinha we climb onto a single track along an irrigation canal and drop down back into the town of Odemira. | |
| Day 3: | São Teotónio – Zambujeira – Cavaleiro. (Coastal Ride – 49 km dirt / shale tracks.) We start cycling through a pine wood on a track which turns south west through eucalyptus woods over a stream and then climbs up to the highest point before dropping down to the farm of Vale Linhares. After the break and having completed any repairs we head off north up the coast past Touril and along a cliff path. The last 7 km is right against the spectacular cliffs with the atlantic surf bellow. The trailer awaits to whisk the bikes and riders up to the mountain town of Monchique in time for showers and then dinner over looking the Algarve coast. | |
| Day 4: | Picota. Probably the most rewarding day due to the number of single tracks. 36 km with a mid level of technical and physical difficulty. From our hotel we drop down into the town of Monchique and upto Vale das Perdizes on tarmac. Turning off we hit a dual track and then a single track which starts our climb up to the second highest peak in the Algarve. This single track requires technical skill to ride over raised tree roots. | |
| Day 5: | Foia - Odeceixe. 40 km. Probably the easiest day as we drop down from mountain top to the atlantic coast. The day starts with a 7 km climb up to Foia the highest peak of the Algarve (and 2nd highest in Portugal). The trail passes over the river Seixe and follows the river with easy cycling into the town of Odeceixe where we will sample the dishes of the day at a local restaurant.The team will then transfer us back to the original guest house at Vila Nova de Milfontes. | |
| Day 6: | Odemira – S.Luís - Milfontes. 43 km of medium level of difficulty both technical and physical. After breakfast a short transfer to the quay at Odemira ( 20 minutes ) takes us to the starting point for the day from where we head north following the picturesque river Mira for 10 km. Revitalised we head northwest past the quarries and into the hills of São Luís. On the hillsides of eucalyptus trees we will take some very steep downhill sections passing onto a single track along a stream of Corgo da Casa Velha and then back up into the woods of Forninhos. Here the paths change to sand requiring a different riding technique. Back at the guest house we will box up the bikes before our fare well dinner at the Tasca do Celso restaurant. | |
| Day 7: | Departure. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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One of the most positive differences you will find in this trip is the extremely friendly people you will meet in a traditionally Portuguese environment. We are focused on offering a unique experience, as we can provide a high degree of flexibility and personal care.
Responsible tourism is a core differentiator for our business and the Alentejo region generally. The unspoilt, natural surroundings are what attract people as a contrast to the intensive, mass tourism of the Algarve. We know the importance of maintaining this environment for the sustainability of both the locality and our livelihood. We work directly with ICN (Institute for the Conservation of Nature). We are based within a Natural Park, so we pay an annual fee to ICN in order to protect and develop initiatives inside the Park. Our leaders take active steps to ensure our groups behave in an environmentally responsible manner such as sticking to established trails, not leaving anything behind or removing any plants whilst doing the activities through the park. We have solar panels to heat the water. We recycle the garbage and our employees are local. We're in a very rural environment so our business represents a very important alternative regarding local employment opportunities. Most of our leaders were born in the region and others have lived in this region for a long time. They're all part of our community and share the same values and culture.  This trip allows our guests to be in contact with all our traditions and way of living, and allows them to get closer to the reality of rural Portugal. This region is known for preserving the traditional way of life. You will not find big hotels as they're all locally owned. We only work with small groups of not more than 16 people. Tourism has a very important role in this region and contributes to the sustainable development of our community. The human intervention on the environment is very controlled by the ICN (Institute for the Conservation of Nature). |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |