Monchique
One long steady climb. Bring the charger and take the bus back if you want.
- Distance
- 24 km
- From
- Portimão
- Climbing
- 750 m
- On the bike
- 2–3 h
one way, by road
nearest delivery town
one way
unhurried, with the assist
What is worth stopping for in Monchique
Not an itinerary. These are the things people come back and mention, in no particular order — see two of them or all four.
- 1Peak of the mountain
- 2Monchique town
- 3Souvenir shops
- 4Healthy ride
Before you ride to Monchique
- Fóia, above the town, is the highest point in the Algarve at 902 m. On a clear day you see both coasts from it — and on a bad day you see cloud, which is most of what there is to see.
- Medronho is distilled up here from the arbutus berry. Some of it is licensed and some of it is not, and everyone local knows which is which.
- The 2018 fire went through this whole massif. What you ride through is the regrowth — that is also why some of the views are wider than they were.
- Caldas de Monchique, below the town, is a thermal spring that the Romans used and Portuguese royalty came to. It is a short freewheel off the climb.
One bike, and it does this ride
750 m of climbing is a real morning's work, and the assist is what makes it a pleasant one. Take the charger, and if you would rather not ride back down, the bus takes bikes.
- Model
- Wayscral Everyway E200
- Battery
- 468 Wh
- Gears
- Shimano Altus, 7 speed
- Rider height
- 150–170 cm
€30 a day
Book a bikeIf that is too much, or not enough
Lagos
- Many caves
- A lot of beaches
- Castles
- Church
Rolling, past Alvor and Meia Praia
Worth knowing · Ponta da Piedade is the sea-stack headland south of town — the formation on every Algarve poster. There is a staircase from the clifftop down to the water.
Albufeira
- Praia da Falésia
- Old Albufeira
- Church Matriz
- Archaeological museum
Cliff road with a climb out of every cove
Worth knowing · The tunnel through the cliff to Praia do Peneco was cut so the town could reach its own beach. It is still the way in.