A citrus flavour to your Portugal walking holiday
The very first martime expeditions to other continents were led from the Algarve and the region was enriched for several centuries by this ‘fruitiful’ trade. As well as being rich in discovery, these expeditions bought home various and once exotic fruits that have now become a symbol of the Algarve and Portugal.
Walking in Portugal: the colouful daily markets
Every town and village in the Algarve has a weekly, sometimes daily, market with wicker baskets overflowing with oranges, figs, almonds, pomegranates, olives and lemons and their colours and aromas are part of everyday life, tantilising your taste buds on your self-guided Portugal walking trip.
The Portugese soil has always been favourable to agriculture. The Romans and then the Arabs introduced different plants and various farming techniques such as the levadas, an irrigation system installed by the Arabs that still serves it’s original purpose to this day. Small dry stone walls are more common place than the modern fences or barbed wire. Add to this the exchanges and experiences during the Great Maritime Discoveries, the Portugese have proven to be excellent agronomists over the centuries.
Hiking in Portugal during the warm and gentle winter months
In many places around the world, autumn and winter are the seasons where little grows. In the Algarve however, with it’s gentle climate, autumn brings with it the ripening of pomegranates, almonds, and tropical fruit such as mango and guava that were first brought to the country in the holds of the ships returning from the Great Discoveries. The promegranate tree is a legendary one in the southern Iberian Penisula. It is said to be the tree of paradise, it’s fruit with its small ruby coloured pips is considered a rich anti-oxidant with anti-cancer benefits.
A walking holiday in Portugal is more than just a series of beautiful landscapes; It is a culinary experience, a discovery, a tasting....
If you would like more information on our self-guided Portugal walking trips, then click on the link here for our full catalogue.
