Product Description

Walking in Portugal guides you through the countryside of Europe's forgotten outdoor destination with step-by-step descriptions of 33 walks, from one-hour strolls to epic, five-day adventures, all illustrated with detailed, full-colour maps. There's also information on walking conditions, wildlife, food & drink, accommodation and local culture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #168901 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From the Publisher
The second edition of Walking in Portugal has been completely re-researched and re-designed. There are now 32 pages of colour maps to match the step-by-step walks in the guide. More than just a collection of route descriptions, Walking in Portugal introduces you to Portuguese geography, culture, food and drink, and includes a detailed, illustrated section on the country's wildlife. Once you pick a region or two to visit, Walking in Portugal lets you into some local secrets. Find out what the weather will be like, what wildlife you might encounter, the best places to stay whatever your budget and which local dishes to sample. There are also practical tips on trail conditions and route markings, where to buy maps and supplies, and what to do if things go wrong

From the Author
Step off into the unknown and explore a forgotten corner of Europe. There's more to Portugal than the crowded beaches of the Algarve, as we discovered in six months' worth of research there. The walks we include in the guide range from a glorious traverse of Portugal's largest natural park, the Serra da Estrela, to an hour-long stroll along an abandoned railway track in port wine country. Portugal boasts wolves, lynx and a fantastic assortment of birds of prey: we include drawings and descriptions of the most notable animals for easy identification. The country's rural life is vibrant and rich in heritage, from bagpipes and megaliths to crusader castles and riotous festivals. We tasted everything from octopus to offal, gorged on fruit at roadside stalls and made sticky pastries an important part of our daily routine. And we washed all this down with some of the cheapest, most underrated wine in Europe.

About the Author
Bethan Davies and Ben Cole fell in love with Portugal while writing the first edition of Walking in Portugal in 1993. Since then, they have walked and cycled hundreds of miles while exploring this beautiful country. They live in Vancouver, Canada, where they spend their free time hiking the coastal mountains.

Customer Reviews

A good book, and good but tough walking!
This book is pretty well the only guide to walking in Portugal, so it's pretty hard to give it anything less than 4 stars. The authors have also obviously spent a lot of time following the routes - and probably marking them with shepherd stones - because the descriptions of the paths are excellent. The wildlife guides, though rudimentary, are also useful. However, the book does have faults. The maps in the book are next to useless - you have to rely on the text to work out where to go - which is a shame. Another minor issue was the lack of advice about what to wear. I wish I'd been warned to wear trousers. It was hot and I wore shorts, but my legs got torn open by the gorse that I had to wade through! While the country is very beautiful, it is only slowly waking up to the potential of walking tourism, and the paths are left to get very overgrown. It's worth the effort though - and this book helps to make it possible!