Contrasts of the Alentejo Walk

• Sleepy white villages, forgotten farms and windmills, colourful fishing harbours untouched by tourism
• Superb bird spotting: chiff chaff, azure magpie, green woodpecker, blue rock thrush
• Crystal clear lakes, lush river valleys, proud Atlantic cliffs backing wild deserted beaches
• Intimate rural boutique hotels with wonderfully friendly charismatic owners
• Exceptional value for money - all meals and picnics included - optional extra nights in Lisbon

In the far south-west corner of the Iberian Peninsula between Lisbon and the Algarve is a genuine hidden treasure. The Parque Natural Sudoueste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina is the largest protected coastal Natural Park in Europe, encompassing a rolling sea of verdant hills and river valleys, and over 100kmof wild and pristine beaches and coast.

Over the week our walks contrast shimmering inland lakes with lush green river valleys that lead to a grand finale of the wildest and most spectacular coastal walking we've ever seen! Having started inland where, in sleepy white villages, local bee-keepers drink fiery medronho with their morning coffee, and horses pull carts along country tracks to white-washed farms, your final stretch takes you over the low Cercal Range to the sea, where you end your holiday taking off your boots and paddling up the beach in the surf!

You will find this is one of the best areas in Europe for birding too, and you can see 50 species in a day! In spring the landscape is a deep green - aromatic flowering cistus and rockrose blanket the valleys, and in autumn, the landscape is a sunkissed Tuscan yellow, where goldilocks aster and autumn squill sprinkle the landscape with yellow and violet.

Where you stay is extra special. Frank McCormick is one of the foremost birding experts in Portugal, and the first three nights are spent at his beautiful lakeside Casa Rural. You then walk northwest to Jose Falcao's homely hotel in white-washed San Luis, before ending up in the protected Natural Park for your final three nights.