Portugal's Seaside Coast & Villages Trail
DAY 1 You make your way from Lisbon Airport on Sunday down to the small hotel Papa Leguas. Here you will have a little time to settle in and can partake of some refreshments or lunch-depending on arrival time-before you are introduced to the program for the duration of your stay. As time permits, you are taken for a little tour by car to see some of the landscapes through which you will be riding the next week, ending with a drink by the Atlantic Ocean. After a couple of hours rest you will be taken out for dinner in Zambujeira do Mar, a small village by the ocean only a few minutes drive from Papa Leguas.
DAY 2 You are transported to Herdade de Pessegueiro where you will be introduced to your horse. After leaving the farm you will ride north through the small fishing village of "Porto Covo", following the cliff tops from where you can see the many small beautiful beaches that line the coast. The terrain turns flat and soft, perfect for long and enjoyable canters before entering the cork oak forest where you will have a long lunch near the "Morgavel" dam. Optional refreshing swim. After a rest you ride along the long meandering trail through the "Gaio valley" filled with tall ferns and many species of wild flowers, as would be found in an old forest. Reaching the old windmill where flour used to be made, you will enjoy watching the horses rolling and getting ready to overnight.
DAY 3 Starting from the windmill you will ride through the "Sela Vermalha Valley" where you pass the old iron mines to the ridge of "Cercal", where from the hilltop there is a spectacular view in all directions of the region. Lunch will be next to the small creek shaded by the overhanging poplar trees. Afterwards riders go to the rich green rocky "Roncão valley" and you canter inland through Eucalyptus and cork oak forests.
DAY 4 Today's ride is south through the "Godins valley" until you reach the "Ribeira da Azenha" plain with sandy tracks leading through the pine and eucalyptus tree forests. Then you pass close to "Milfontes" and cross over the Mira River where you will lunch in the pine tree forest nearby the riverbank. In the afternoon you continue riding through the pine forest to the small village of "Almograve", where you finish the days trail and stable the horses.
DAY 5 From "Almograve" the group rides in the direction of the coast where you reach the spectacular cliff tops of "Cabo Sardão", here you will have lunch and enjoying the stunning view of the Alentejo coastline. In the afternoon you ride along the cliffs where storks can be seen nesting and then continue on to ride over the rolling sand dunes of "Almograve". You then return to "Almograve" to stable the horses where you will be picked up to return to your guesthouse.
DAY 6 From "Almograve" you ride along a farm track until you reach the sand dunes and the sea. Riders then cross over the Mira River and ride through the town of "Milfontes". After lunch you ride up the coast and then cross over the coastal plain to reach the farm, where you leave the horses and are picked up to return to your guesthouse.
DAY 7 After breakfast you can be transferred to the airport in time for the departing flights.
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