Surrender to the charms of the River Arade which, for thousands of years, served as the western Algarve's main "road". On the Passages of Time route, you have the chance to discover some of the history of the Portimão region in a setting of great natural beauty that connects Portimão to Silves.
Century after century, all sorts of goods and merchandise travelled up and down the River Arade, while saltpans, tidal mills and canning factories were successively built along its banks.
You can see birds poised atop the wooden stakes of the dykes along the river bank – black-headed gulls in winter and little terns in summer. Throughout the trip you can also see various waders, such as redshanks and sandpipers. Watch out too for grey and white herons or, if luck is with you, perhaps the rarer purple heron, as well as buzzards circling aloft to take advantage of the rising currents of warm air while they search for prey on the ground.
Portimão
What to do
Where to eat
Where to Sleep
Beaches
