Picota and back via Monchique November 22, 2020

 Our inaugural recce walk on 24th October followed the PR 2 Camino Das Caldas- Picota route which starts in the beautiful village of the Caldas de Monchique. Here we met our co-walkers and advisors Jim and Gill.

The fab four set off with gusto and upon crossing the EN266 realised we must be on the correct path when we saw the sign for our own Murphy stout. Our route followed a paved road the hard surface of which was compensated by the incredible views of the mountains of Monchique. Even though the trail was well marked the leader and one of her advisors managed to go off piste. Not so for the intrepid John and Gill who were less adventurous and actually managed to stay on the correct path.

We continued to climb and eventually reached a sign which directed us to the top of Picota. This section of the climb was uneven and required a little care but the panoramic view was well worth the effort and extra distance. We dined in style at what seemed the top of the world. 

Fully sated we carefully descended from the top of Picota and intercepted the GR13 -Via Algarviana. We followed a dirt track to Monchique where we had a cafe to reinvigorate the caffeine depleted fab four. This gave us a boost to begin the climb back to the Caldas de Monchique. This part of the walk appeared non ending perhaps due to the lack of stunning views which we had encountered on the first half of the walk.

Distance: 21 km

Maximum altitude: 702 m

Verdict: a fantastic walk with spectacular views not for the faint hearted.

Start at Caldas  Gill, Jim, John

Jim and Susan Perdidos

Top of Picota Jim and John

A good sign at the start (Murphys)

Route Map

Jim and Gill at Trig point

Interesting Tree