They are walks along the trails of the Northeast of the Algarve, but, above all, they are experiences, involving the beauties, products, traditions and people of this territory. The Alcoutim Hiking Festival will take place from today, Friday, and until Sunday, on the paths of this municipality, but also on those of Sanlúcar de Guadiana, the Spanish neighbor across the river, and bring back some normality to this territory.
The now famous “Morning with the Shepherd”, which includes a picnic, but also trips in search of the honey cycle, endemic plants and built heritage, are some of the highlights of this event, which has 16 themed walks.
The walks have different levels of difficulty and are guided by «people who know the territory, who frame the different themes proposed».
The complete program can be consulted here.
This is the return of major events to Alcoutim and the symbolism could not be greater.
«This was the last event that we held normally, before we closed because of the pandemic», recalled Osvaldo Gonçalves, mayor of Alcoutim, in statements to the Sul Informação.
For the mayor, the 2022 Hiking Festival, whose motto is “We are back together”, will be “the start of a normality that we all want and that is needed”.
«I hope everything goes well and that people take from here what they usually take, which is a positive idea of our organization, the routes and the topics that are addressed during the walks», he wished.
“I see this event as an opportunity for us to restart that possible normality. We even have some other initiatives planned, such as the Avó Doces da Avó, in April, among others », he added.
And normality is welcome, especially from the perspective of local economic agents.
As in other years, the Hiking Festival is being marked “by great demand”, which means that there are those who have “difficulty securing a place on some of our hikes, because they are often already sold out”.
«In this way, I am sure that accommodation, commercial establishments and all the economic dynamics will benefit from the event», believes Osvaldo Gonçalves.
The festival is organized by the Municipality of Alcoutim in collaboration with the Ayuntamiento de Sanlúcar de Guadiana and is part of the Algarve Walking Season, supported by Turismo de Portugal and Turismo do Algarve.
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