Cachopo

About This Place

The main village of the high Serra do Caldeirão, in the Tavira hinterland — and the launch point for Sector 5, the longest and hardest day on the Via Algarviana.

Cachopo is the largest settlement in the high Serra do Caldeirão, an upland parish of the Tavira municipality that feels a very long way from the coast it technically belongs to. The village sits at around 400 m in a landscape of schist ridges, cork oak and holm oak, and long-abandoned terraces. It has the essentials — a café or two, a small grocery, a health centre, a petrol pump — and for anyone walking the interior Algarve that makes it a landmark.

Weaving and the serra economy

Cachopo has a strong textile tradition. The mantas — heavy woven wool blankets in bold geometric patterns — were made here on hand looms, and the craft has been kept alive through a local cooperative. There is also a small ethnographic collection covering serra life: cork harvesting, charcoal burning, beekeeping and the dryland farming that sustained these hills before depopulation emptied them.

The cork economy in particular still shapes the landscape here, and if you want to understand how the bark is cut, graded and traded, the Loulé market and cork-country tours explain it far better than any panel.

Want a guided experience?

Cork Secrets

From the meeting point we head to the bubbling Loulé Market! Smell the smells and discover the local products (bread, cakes, jams, honey, nuts, liqueurs, fish and more). Next, we'll visit the cork...

7hFrom €81

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The surrounding country is one of the least populated in Portugal. It is also prime birdwatching territory — Bonelli's eagle, short-toed eagle, and in the quieter valleys, black-winged kite.

For walkers

Cachopo is the end of Sector 4 of the Via Algarviana, a straightforward 14.9 km from Vaqueiros. It is also the start of Sector 5, the hardest day on the entire trail: 29.5 km to Barranco do Velho, officially graded V — Very Hard, with 1,733 m of cumulative ascent and 1,619 m of descent, and an official walking time of eight hours.

Do not underestimate that day. It crosses the deep serra with no settlement of any size en route, and while the official notes list water as available at Cachopo, you should carry everything you need for the crossing. Starting at first light is standard practice, and in summer this sector is best avoided entirely.

Cachopo is a sensible place to build in a rest day. It has more services than anywhere else for a day's walk in either direction.

If you would rather see the deep serra from a vehicle than on foot, the off-road tracks around Cachopo are the classic full-day 4x4 territory.

Want a guided experience?

Jeep Safari Tour - Full Day

A tour for true explorers, this incredible tour takes you to the interior of the Algarve with its traditions, history and stunning landscapes. Tasting of traditional liquors and honey tasting. We...

7hFrom €57

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Getting there

Cachopo sits on the EN 124, which runs west towards São Brás de Alportel and east towards Martinlongo. Vamus Algarve runs limited bus services from Tavira; check timetables, as connections are built around school and market days rather than visitors.