Adventure Day: Burgau to Ingrina

It started as a simple idea: reserve one day each week for unstructured exploring with no rigid plans, no must-see lists, just a loose sense of direction and a willingness to follow whatever catches our eye. Somewhere along the way it became Adventure Day — open maps, open minds, a few happy accidents, and always worth the detour.

Yesterday’s wander took us along the western Algarve coast, mixing fishing villages, ruins with a view, traces of ancient civilizations, and even a few prehistoric mysteries. Here’s a 💎video of the things that a photo couldn’t capture.

A sketch of a plan took form; here is the route we made:

Praia do Burgau & Village
Forte de Almádena
Villa Romana da Boca do Rio
Salema (a second failed attempt — no where to park)
Figueira (Forte de Vera Cruz)
Menir do Padrão
Forte e Bateria do Zavial
Praia da Ingrina

With the help of ChatGPT, I created a map of this adventure (open the map). Note: I noticed the pins are a bit off, so don’t use this as an absolute guide.

Burgau

Our first stop was the small fishing village of Burgau. After snagging a parking spot, we walked down the hill to look at the beach. Already well populated and destined to be completely packed by midday. Two reasons – a Rick Steves mention and it being August.

After grabbing a quick coffee, we meandered through the tiny village before setting out to our next destination.

Forte de Almádena

Was I actually surprised when Tom veered off onto a a gravel road? The sign reading Forte de Almádena appeared so quickly, I could only capture a blur. But it clearly pointed that the forte was up a gravel road. When we encountered seriously deep ruts, Tom parked the car and we walked the rest of the way (no need to get stuck so early in our adventure). And I was wearing proper shoes (no need to get injured so early in our adventure).

Forte de Almádena is perched dramatically on a clifftop between Burgau and Boca do Rio. This 17th-century fort was built to guard the coast from pirates. Now it’s a haunting ruin, with crumbling walls framing sweeping views of the Atlantic.

Villa romana da Boca do Rio

We arrived to Praia da Boca do Rio, a tiny rocky beach that was absolutely breathtaking. What is this hidden gem? Set just inland from the beach, are Roman villa ruins that date back to the 1st–4th centuries CE.

Now, the ruins are vastly covered with graffiti. Someone is clearly a yoga superfan and someone has an aversion to tomatoes.

Forte de Vera Cruz

With our second failed attempt to see the village of Salema, we continued on. We drove out to Forte de Vera Cruz, the ruined remains of a 17th-century fort built during the Restoration War under King John IV and strategically positioned atop the eastern cliff of Praia da Figueira. Sounds wonderful but because we were winging our adventure, we were not up for the 12 minute walk to the beach in the heat. Good thing too, because we would have been tempted to try to get up to the forte and that would have been exhausting.

When we do go again we have a couple options to explore – beach then forte or forte then beach. The looped trail is about 4km. The tricky part is the part between the forte and the beach and while it is short, it is a bit steep ascent or descent depending on the direction we go. Hiking poles and good shoes will help that section. Sounds like the trail between the beach and the parking lot is quite pretty going through gardens, noras, and rocky outcrops.

Menir do Padrão

Standing quietly in a field south of the small village of Raposeira is where we found Menir do Padrão. It is over 4,000 years old and the last last survivor of a prehistoric stone alignment. And yes we took a selfie with it.

What is a Megalith?

Let’s pause to understand more. A megalith is a term for any large stone structure made by prehistoric people. Here are the specifics and an example:

Menir: a single, upright standing stone. May be part of a line or group. Often carved or shaped. Menir do Padrão near Raposeira
Dolmen (Anta in Portuguese): a stone tomb made of upright slabs with a large flat capstone on top. Often covered by a mound. Anta das Pedras Altas (Alcoutim).
Cromlech: a circle or oval arrangement of standing stones (menhirs). May have astronomical alignments. Cromlech do Xerez (near Monsaraz, Alentejo)
Alignment: rows of menhirs set out in straight or curving lines. Often impressive in scale. Menires de Lavajo (Castro Marim)

Now that I have the megalith bug in me, I found more to check out:

Megalithic Monuments of Alcalar – near Portimão with around 12–18 tombs, It’s the most significant Neolithic site in the Algarve and includes an interpretive center.

Menhirs of Lavajo – Three carved menhirs near Alcoutim, including one impressive 3.14 m tall stone with decorations, likely forming an alignment.

Menir dos Aspradantes (near Hortas do Tabual). Tall, upright limestone monolith surrounded by fields.

Menir dos Gregórios. Situated near Silves, this sandstone menhir stands ~2.1 m tall and is marked with around 47 cup-marks; it’s from the Early Neolithic.

Almendres Cromlech (near Évora). Neolithic-era monument with many stones standing upright in a circle, some with inscriptions.

Forte e Bateria do Zavial

A lesser-known gem near the coast, this fortification guarded the beaches of Zavial and Ingrina. Today, it’s more about the views — wild, rugged coastline in every direction — and the sense of stumbling across a forgotten outpost.

Praia da Ingrina

A small, sheltered cove with calm waters that make it perfect for a swim. On a warm day such as this it was the perfect place to cool off. The water was super clear and we jumped through the waves, floated on our backs past the breakers, then did a little body surfing.

The Signs

Some signs and a little bit of a traffic jam with Vila do Bispo in the distance.

More Portugal

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