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Portugal Walking Tour: The Alentejo

Apr 06-13, 2025

8 days | Portugal | Active & Walking

The Alentejo is a peaceful region with a storied history reaching back centuries and even millennia. Gently rolling hills, sleepy villages, and dry fields may seem uninspiring at first — that is, until you get out on the land and walk. It is then that the distinct character of Portugal’s rural heartland reveals itself to the inquisitive traveller.

On this active walking tour, we have arranged daily walks of 10 to 20 kilometres, each from one historic village to the next. On most days, we drive a short distance to our starting point and then meet our vans at the end point before returning to our home base, the first of which is the village of Marvão in the Alto Alentejo region near the Spanish border. These highlands retain the gentle character of the plains while injecting some variety into the landscape through hilltop castles and walled communities that harken to past military conflict. Those days of unrest are long gone, and today’s locals prepare traditional foods and red wines as part of a slower-paced lifestyle. Our second home base near Alter do Chão is in lower-altitude terrain with scattered trees and groves of Cork Oaks. Wander along brides, roadways, and stream banks past whitewashed houses and field full of colourful wildflowers and butterflies.

We have timed this tour to coincide with the temperate spring before hot summer temperatures become the daily norm. Our wellness leader accompanies the group from start to finish, ensuring that everyone’s needs are met on this contemplative journey through a landscape that calms the soul and ignites our curiosity.
 

 
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Active & Walking alumni UBC Travel Club Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
C$5395 including taxes & gratuities
Group Size:
12 - 18 participants

What’s included: Airport transfers on tour start and end dates (single departure each day); accommodations based on double occupancy in hotels listed or similar; ground transportation as indicated in the itinerary; Water in vehicle during excursions; all activities as described in the itinerary;
entrance fees; Coffee, tea, and water at each meal; meals as specified in the itinerary; porterage of one standard piece of baggage per person; gratuities for guides, driver, hotel staff, and included meals; all taxes;services of your alumni UBC Study Leader; fully escorted by our English-speaking Portuguese guide. 

Itinerary at a Glance

DayActivity
1Arrive in Lisbon
2To Marvão
3Meada to Castelo de Vide 18kms
4Galegos to Marvão 16kms
5Marvão Loop to Portagem 13kms
6Chancelaria - Seda / Transfer to Alter do Chão 10kms
7Cabeço de Vide - Alter do Chão 14kms
8Departure
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Your Tour Leader

Lynn Kanuka is an Olympic medalist and WalkRun coach. She is best known for her Bronze medal performance at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984. For over 25 years Lynn has inspired people of all ages and ability levels through physical fitness to take steps toward better health, achieve personal goals, and be active and happy.

Active & Walking alumni UBC Travel Club Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
C$5395 including taxes & gratuities
Group Size:
12 - 18 participants

What’s included: Airport transfers on tour start and end dates (single departure each day); accommodations based on double occupancy in hotels listed or similar; ground transportation as indicated in the itinerary; Water in vehicle during excursions; all activities as described in the itinerary;
entrance fees; Coffee, tea, and water at each meal; meals as specified in the itinerary; porterage of one standard piece of baggage per person; gratuities for guides, driver, hotel staff, and included meals; all taxes;services of your alumni UBC Study Leader; fully escorted by our English-speaking Portuguese guide. 

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Portugal Walking Tour: The Alentejo

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