Barranco do Velho
Barranco do Velho
GPS track – Walking-in-Algarve – Loulé (LLE PR17)
7.9 mi. Difficult 215m Barranco do Velho
Barranco do Velho walk (LLE PR17) is a difficult official circular 8 mile GPS track from the Loulé municipality. We have not walked this track yet and cannot offer a personal impression. The GPS track and official PDF brochure can be downloaded on this web page.
The drive to the start of the walk, just north of Sao Brás de Alportel, is breathtakingly beautiful already. From the coast you enter the Serra do Caldeirão mountain range, a beautiful area in the interior of the Algarve. Cork oaks and Medronho trees (orchard strawberries) dominate the scene. Barranco do Velho itself has a distillery where aguardente de medronho is produced This is a kind of Portuguese gin. Besides cork, aguardente is an important source of income for farmers.
The walk
This round trip (LLE PR17) is above all a beautiful walk. You can choose how many kilometers you want to walk. The short version is only 3.4 mile, we publish the long circular walk of 7.9 mile. The route is quite difficult, due to the number of vertical meters it contains. You need to be in good shape.
The Walk starts at 500m height with beautiful views. When the sky is clear, even the ocean is visible .The quiet dirt roads are quiet and first descend to about 300m. After that the descent starts. Along the way some trees provide occasional shade. This route can also be done in warmer weather. Along the way you will come across some water sources (fontes), some of which are a bit off the track (Fonte Férrea). These are the extras for the die-hards. . The route is marked yellow-red. You won’t find any catering establishments along the way, so bring a picnic.
In Barranco do Velho you can have a delicious lunch after the walk in the restaurant A Tia Bia or Aunt Bea´s (closed on Mondays). In Barranco do Velho itself, the church and the cemetery are also worth a visit. They are at the highest point in the area and offer a nice panorama.
