Silves
Gentle river road inland, shaded most of the way.
- Distance
- 18 km
- From
- Portimão
- Climbing
- 140 m
- On the bike
- 1–1.5 h
one way, by road
nearest delivery town
one way
unhurried, with the assist
What is worth stopping for in Silves
Not an itinerary. These are the things people come back and mention, in no particular order — see two of them or all four.
- 1Castle
- 2Church
- 3River
- 4Orange garden
Before you ride to Silves
- Silves was Xelb, the capital of the Moorish Algarve, when the coast towns were villages. The red sandstone castle above it is the largest Moorish fortification left in Portugal.
- Everyone calls the bridge Roman. It is almost certainly medieval, probably standing on Roman foundations — we would rather tell you that than repeat the postcard.
- The Arade was navigable this far inland and Silves was a working port. It silted up, and that is a large part of why the town stopped mattering and the coast took over.
- The orange groves you ride through are the point of the last stretch. In February the whole valley smells of the blossom.
One bike, and it does this ride
140 m of climbing over 18 km is nothing the motor cannot absorb. It is a hybrid with a motor on it — if the assist runs out you ride on, on seven gears.
- 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
Armação de Pêra
- Long sandy beach
- Beach promenade
- Fishermen's chapel
- Salgados lagoon and its birds
Flat coastal road, promenade at the end — the family one
Worth knowing · The name comes from fishing gear, not from a person. An armação was the tuna trap set off this coast — the tuna went, the name stayed.
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.