Everyone comes to the Algarve for the beach, and rightly so. But drive half an hour inland and everything changes: greener, cooler, quieter. The Monchique mountains are the highest point of the Algarve, and on a clear day you can see all the way to the ocean from the top.
Fóia — the highest point
At 902 metres, Fóia is the highest peak on Portugal's southern coast. You can drive all the way up, but the walk from the village of Monchique is worth the effort.
Go early. From around eleven there's often haze, and you lose the very view you came for.
The passadiços
These wooden boardwalks wind through the forests and along streams, well away from the traffic. They're well maintained and perfectly doable with children.
Partly in the shade, which in July and August makes the difference between a lovely walk and a hard one.
Cork oaks and eucalyptus
Around Monchique you'll see cork oaks everywhere with their bare, red-brown trunks — they're stripped every nine years. That pink-orange wood is the most striking sight in the region.
After the wildfires of 2018 much is growing back. You can watch the landscape recovering, which is impressive in its own way.
From Casa Festi you're there in thirty minutes. Half a day is enough, but those who take their time and stay for dinner in the village will have one of the best days of the holiday.