Portugal

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina

WHS Score 0.72
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Votes for Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina

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  • CugelVance
  • Wojciech Fedoruk

1

  • Alvaro1404
  • Clyde
  • Federico P.
  • Francky D'Hoop
  • George Gdanski
  • Jakob Frenzel
  • Kim, Soo-youn
  • Kyle Magnuson
  • M. Huineman de la Cuadra
  • nan
  • Nick M

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Full Name
Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (ID: 6225)
Country
Portugal
Status
Removed from tentative list 2017 Site history
History of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina
2017: Added to Tentative List
Added to tentative list
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First published: 28/02/25.

CugelVance

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (Removed from tentative list)

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina by CugelVance

 

Time of the visit: the 19th of feb.2025

Twice a year I stay for some weeks near Tavira,in the south of Portugal.

Apart from the tentative whs "Southwest Coast" and "Mertola" I have already visited every whs and tentative whs in a radius of 200 km.

Yesterday morning I travelled from Tavira to Sagres and Burgau to visit two of the components of the tentative whs southwest coast.My plan was to spend most of the day in and around Sagres and hike for 1-2 h along the cliffs near Burgau.

Around 11.00 I arrived in Sagres where I visited the Fortaleza de Sagres,some viewpoints and took some pictures from the cliffs there.Sagres didnt impress me much.I dont know why but the entire area around Sagres didnt appeal to me that much .I decided to shorten my stay there and spend more time in and around Burgau which turned out to be a good decision.

At around 13.45 I arrived in Burgau where I first visited the decent and clean beach.

O trilho dos pescadores (fisherman's trail) is a long-distance which extends for 227 km.I hiked from Burgau to Salema and back.The fisherman's path there follows the ocean coast and offers numerous stunning views of the Atlantic including white sand beaches,towering cliffs,flower fields and lush green inland as well as breathtaking panoramas to the sea.

Throughout the night before it had been raining cats and dogs and some other animals: heavy rain.

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First published: 23/02/21.

Jakob Frenzel

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (Removed from tentative list)

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina by Jakob Frenzel

October 2020 - since all Portuguese mainland WHS sites are north and east of Lisbon, we decided not to travel along the Algarve and Southwestcoast. However, friends of us where in Portugal at the same time, so we visited them in Vila Nova de Milfontes. It is a cozy little surfer town. North of it you can find the Praia de Malhao with its beautiful cliffs, sand beach and coastal vegetation. I am positive that this must be one of the most beautiful spots of Portugal’s coast. We spent a whole day here with our friends and daughter, were swimming in the cold waves of the Atlantic, got sunburned and had good enough impressions that we could leave the coast the next day to continue to Evora and Elvas.

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First published: 09/09/20.

Clyde

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (Removed from tentative list)

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina by Clyde

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 …

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First published: 30/07/18.

Kyle Magnuson

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (Removed from tentative list)

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina by Kyle Magnuson

Utilizing a car rental (Fiat 500) my wife and I drove from Coimbra to Lagos. However, once we passed Lisbon and approached the Northern portion of the Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina Park, we got off the toll road and took the highway that runs along the coast (though not ON the coast like the PCH in California). Our first stop was in Almograve, which did not disappoint. We've explored the California coast for a decade and fallen in love with its rugged beauty and I was so pleased to see this equally rugged and beautiful coast in Portugal! Its hard not to compare these coasts, but it should be noted they are still vastly different in regards to inland habitat, biodiversity, and geology. Where they do compare however is in the visitor experience, as you park your car and are rewarded with expansive coastal views, secluded coves, and interesting rock formations. My two stops along the Western coast (Almograve and Odeceixe) worked out very well and the detour off the toll road was more than justified. Before I move on to the sites in the southern portion of the park near Lagos, I should mention a special feature about Odeceixe which is situated on the Rio de Seixe (River Seixe), right on the border between the Algarve and the Alentejo. When rivers and oceans meet, they often form quite spectacular landscapes, Odeceixe is certainly no exception to this. Far more busy than Amograve, but very special nevertheless.

Having …

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First published: 06/03/16.

nan

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina by Nan

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (Removed from tentative list)

Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina by Nan

It's surprising that a tentative site like this bordering one of the most touristic regions of Europe, the Algarve, has no review. Then again, world heritage travelers may not be the typical customers for package holidays, timeshares and all inclusive offerings ...

The proposed area runs along the coast line from Sagres in the South up to Sines in the North. It's easiest to access at Sagres which can be reached by local bus from Lagos.

In Sagres the main site is the fort. While the buildings are of less interest, you get great views of the cliffs and a good feeling of the immense force of the Atlantic ocean. There are holes in the rock and you can hear the sea roaring beneath you. It's also a bit bewildering to see all the Portuguese fishermen standing at the edge of the cliffs, 50m above the sea, with their fishing rods and little to no safety measures taken. Apart from the fort the beach in Sagres is popular with surfers and that's it.

From Sagres I hiked to Cape St Vincent and then along the coast line to Vila do Bispo. The path from Cape St Vincent to Vila do Bispo is rather strenuous due to rocks. Also, the sign posting isn't very helpful and I repeatedly lost the official track. But the views do make up for it.

OUV

Difficult. I liked the site and enjoyed my visit, so I wouldn't mind. But I …

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