I visited several sites along the Southwest Coast and Vicentina Route in Algarve and Alentejo in July 2020, ranging from Sao Torpes, the northernmost point, to Sagres, the southernmost point, and from Cabo do Sao Vicente, the westernmost point, to Burgau, the easternmost point.

I haven't been to the US Pacific Coast Highway like Kyle Magnuson, but I have been to the Great Ocean Road in Australia and even though the drive per se is not comparable, the geological aspects and rugged coastline and formations certainly are. The pristine condition and the scale of (most of) this Atlantic coastline in Europe, mostly devoid of urban sprawls or eyesores is definitely unique in Europe. It represents about 362 million years of the Earth's history, showcasing the development stages of sedimentary basins with vast preserved fossil records, dinosaur trackways (at Salema beach) and associated magmatism corresponding to the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras.

I recommend checking out some of the highlight hiking or cycling routes on https://rotavicentina.com/en/. So as to cover as much ground as possible over a number of days, we drove to several key points of interest and did some short hiking loops or stretches and/or beach hopping combined with panoramic viewpoints.

Of the many we visited, I'll describe with to us were highlights for different reasons. For a good mix of culture and nature, the best area for us was the stretch near Aljezur and its castle. The Circuito de Praia de Odeceixe hike from the windmill dotted countryside of Odeceixe at the regional border between Algarve and Alentejo, crossing the shallow banks of the Ribeira de Seixe (at low tide) from the beach to the opposite rugged geological formations caused by faulting, a consequence of the movement of the plates that form the Earth’s crust. The hike uphill to the flat promontory overlooking the S shaped river flowing into the Atlantic Ocean gives a bird's eye view over what is considered to be one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal. Moreover, it is quite a good spot for birdwatching too.

For a seemingly never-ending sequence of viewpoints of exposed geological formations, cliffs and beautiful sandy beaches providing amazing views and swimming opportunities, I recommend the area around Burgau. From the quaint village of Burgau, after some relaxing and swimming at the beach, I headedto the outskirts of the village following a prickly pear path close to what might look at first sight as an open air landfill or quarry. After quite a strenuous uphill hike, it becomes clear that in actual fact this is no landfill or quarry but eroded cliffs with exposed layers of sediments. You'll know you're hiking in the right direction if you spot the light blue and green marks of the Southwest Coast and Vicentina Route Natural Park. Most of the time, it will be extremely windy here so be careful not to go too close to the edge of the cliffs or venture too far on the loose rocky trails. I wouldn't opt for this hike in rainy weather.

At the westernmost point of this tentative WHS, opposite the stretch from the Cabo do Sao Vicente lighthouse to the Beliche Fortress, there's a really worthwhile hike among coastal and dune vegetation, garigue and red rock formations. The best stretch is close to the Beliche Fortress. After parking my car here, I gave my back to the Fortress, crossed the road and walked what at first seemed a narrow white sandy trail with low coastal vegetation in full bloom. After around 20 minutes of walking the trail widens in a patchwork of red sand and white sand trails for about 30 minutes with nothing in sight around you. Make sure to keep track of your trail to avoid getting lost in this extremely windy and hot area. Then all of a sudden the bicoloured sandy trails end abruptly and you reach a vast and very jagged stretch of garigue with almost no hiking trail marks. After slowly making my way to the cliff edge from rock to rock to avoid walking on the lush and diverse coastal flora, I reached an incredible viewpoint over red rocky cliffs and geological formations which I only managed to take in for a short period of time due to the incredible gusts of wind - no wonder there isn't a single tall tree around for kilometres on end!

Overall this is a noteworthy vast natural park off the beaten track in Portugal and would be a worthy addition to natural heritage site list in Europe, if only to halt the temptation to build more tourist accomodation along the coast - there is enough of that on the southern coastline of Portugal!