Praia da Falésia

Praia da Falésia runs east from Olhos de Água toward Vilamoura, on the central Algarve. It is six kilometres of continuous beach beneath a cliff of layered ochre, red and white sandstone topped with umbrella pines.

The cliff is what distinguishes it from the rest of the coast. West of here the Algarve is hard limestone cut into small coves; here the rock is soft sedimentary material, eroding into buttresses and gullies that change colour through the day and are strikingly red in late light. It is also actively eroding — falls occur, the cliff base is fenced in places, and warning signs are not decorative.

The beach is broad golden sand facing south with a gradual entry and generally calm Atlantic water in summer. Because it is uninterrupted for six kilometres it absorbs visitors well: the access points at either end are busy and the middle is not, which is unusual on this coast in August. Vilamoura at the eastern end is a purpose-built marina resort from the 1970s, and the contrast between it and the empty middle of the beach is worth the walk.

Development is resorts on the clifftop with stairs and lifts down at intervals, and almost nothing on the sand itself beyond a couple of seasonal restaurants. The clifftop path runs the length of it. Olhos de Água at the western end has springs of fresh water rising through the sand at low tide, which is what the name means and what the fishing village was built on.

Six kilometres of ochre cliff and one uninterrupted beach beneath it, which means the middle is empty even in August while the access points are not. Walk it end to end in two hours. The cliff sheds material and the fenced sections are fenced for that. Olhos de Água at the western end has springs rising through the sand at low tide, which is what the name means.