Rocha da Pena

Situated in the Salir and Bensafrim small villages, nearby Loulé, in the Algarve region, the Protected Area of Rocha da Pena offers one of the very best vantage points for looking out over the vast expanse of the Algarve’s Barrocal landscape with all the geological oddities and diversity of fauna and flora that the region is famous for.

In fact, Rocha da Pena is a limestone cornice that reaches 50 metres high and is topped by a plateau with some 2km in length.

The erosion action of the water on this limestone rocks made holes and originated caves and grottoes, some of them with big dimensions.

This is a place with a rich and varied flora, made up of over 390 species of plants, including a striking species of wild rose, yarrow, wild orchids and differing types of scented rosemary. Also the fauna is quite rich and diversified, surviving here the large birds of prey, such as the Bonelli’s eagle, the buzzard and the eagle owl, in addition to the many other birds such as the bee-eater, the great spotted woodpecker and the tit. Wild rabbits and hedgehogs share the land with foxes, genets, mongooses and a small species of wild boar.

This place also comprehends an interesting built heritage, such as the stone-by-stone battlements in the top that probably date back from the Iron age, used as defensive walls, or the Algar dos Mouros cave, perched on top renowned historically as the preferred place of refuge for the Moors as they fled from the Christian forces during the conquest of Salir.

Rocha da Pena combines the greatest conditions for the practice of the most diversified sport and extreme activities, such as rock climbing.
It is also available a wonderful Pedestrian Itinerary with an extension of 4,7 km taking about 3 hours.