MacsTravel Blog

We woke up to beautiful sunshine on our last full day in Portugal. After breakfast we checked out and drove down to the trailhead for the Percurso dos Sete Vales Suspensos, the so-called Seven Hanging Valleys Trail.

If you google “Hiking in the Algarve” this trail typically comes up at or near the top of the list for one day hikes. It’s also referenced as one of the best coastal hikes in Europe. Like our last two hikes this one features the spectacular Algarve coastline with dramatic cliffs, sea stacks, arches, sinkholes, caves and incredible beaches.

It’s called the Seven Hanging Valleys because the dramatic coastal erosion has pushed the water course for each of the seven main ravines high up in the hills rather than at seaside. Thus, “hanging valleys”.

The trailhead is at Praia da Marinha, one of the most iconic beaches in the Algarve, and finishes six kilometres later (closer to eight if you amble around like we do) at Praia do Vale de Centianes where there is a beachside restaurant. You can certainly do it as an out and back but we followed the recommendation to start in Marinha, finish with lunch in Centianes and catch an Uber back to our car. This worked well as we needed to drive north to Lisbon in the late afternoon.

One of the main attractions along this stretch of coastline is the Benagil cave. You can see into the sinkhole from the trail but to access the cave you need to book a boat tour or rent a kayak. We definitely plan to do this (the kayak) the next time we are here.

We did stop at Benagil Beach for a little down time. There are a number of beaches that you can access from the trail. Benagil was lovely.

The first two kilometres of the trail are fairly straightforward but there are some challenging sections over the last few kilometres that involve some tricky climbs and descents. The views were spectacular throughout as was the weather.

One lovely feature of the hiking here at this time of year are all the flowers that are emerging atop and along the cliffs. This trail was no different!

The last major landmark as you move west is the Alfanzina lighthouse, which perches attractively high on a cliff side.

Once you pass the lighthouse it is one more km and then a steady descent down to Praia do Vale de Centianes and lunch!

It was a pleasure having the chance to hike this trail on our last day. What a fantastic six weeks in Spain and Portugal! Special thanks to Darren and Truus for hosting us in Sevilla (which seems ages ago now) and getting our trip off to such a great start. We loved every stop and are excited about returning and exploring more of both countries.

Thanks for following along!