The Trail of the Seven Hanging Valleys was the setting I chose to correct a classic mistake in my travel life: to thoroughly explore distant worlds and postpone, for “later,” everything that lies close to us. With the aim of mending this, I decided to take small getaways to explore that natural and cultural wonder that is the Portuguese Algarve.
I couldn’t have asked for a better baptism by fire, because on my first trip to southern Portugal I decided to bring along a good pair of trekking shoes and enjoy this trail which, along roughly six kilometers of coastline—the stretch separating the Marinha and Vale Centeanes beaches—winds its way through some of the Atlantic’s most spectacular cliffs.
It isn’t a technical hike nor especially demanding, but it is one of those that compel you to pause continually to gaze at the sea, to observe how the light shifts on the limestone rock, or to peer from an unexpected vantage point.
We experienced it in spring, when the summer crowds had not yet claimed the beaches. That blend of wild trail, tiny coves and gigantic stone arches accompanied us on a pleasantly sunny day.
Walking the Seven Hanging Valleys is a way to understand the Algarve beyond the resort complexes. We entered a territory where the ocean has carved a dramatic landscape that deserves to be explored slowly.
