Gilão River 🌊 Tavira – Ria Formosa 🌊 Santa Luzia loop from Pedras d'el Rei

Gilão River 🌊 Tavira – Ria Formosa 🌊 Santa Luzia loop from Pedras d'el Rei

Moderate

3.7

(3)

172

riders

Gilão River 🌊 Tavira – Ria Formosa 🌊 Santa Luzia loop from Pedras d'el Rei

02:33

61.2km

300m

Road cycling

Moderate road ride. Good fitness required. Some segments of this route may be unpaved and difficult to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 1, 2026

Tips

Includes movable bridges

Check opening times.

After 64 m for 13 m

After 61.2 km for 13 m

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

573 m

Ria Formosa — view of the bridge to the Tavira Island mini-rail 🌉

Highlight • Bridge

This point on the paved section of the EcoVia do Litoral just before turning away from the coast at Pedras d'El Rei offers a side view of the movable bridge across the Ria Formosa to the mini-rail shuttling to the outer bank island, that can be raised to let boats pass through the estuary.

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4.82 km

Tavira Castle and the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo

Highlight • Castle

The historic center of Tavira is beautiful, with narrow, cobbled streets. Some of the buildings are colorful or covered in tiles. To see: the old convent of Tavira, now converted into a hotel, the church of Santa Maria do Castelo and the Castle of Tavira.

Translated by Google •

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5.17 km

Convento das Bernardas

Highlight • Religious Site

The Convento das Bernardas transformed the former Monastery of the Cistercian Order in Tavira into housing, which housed that religious order between the 16th and 19th centuries. The rehabilitation was carried out based on a project by the renowned architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, winner of the 2011 Pritzker Prize.

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5.60 km

Gilão River 🌊 Tavira

Highlight • River

The wetlands trails can be explored by bike, but to cross the Rio Gilão either cross one of the historic pedestrian bridges in town or this modern coastal highway bridge. All three offer great views of the estuary and the old town.

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27.9 km

Mata Nacional das Dunas Litorais de Vila Real de Santo António

Forest

29.6 km

Vila Real de Santo António Lighthouse

Highlight • Monument

Built in the early 20th century, this lighthouse was crucial for guiding vessels on both the Guadiana River and the coast. It has undergone several modernization and reconstruction processes. Today, it is fully automated, with no lighthouse keepers on duty.

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30.6 km

Praça Marquês de Pombal, Vila Real de Santo António

Highlight • Monument

Praça Marquês de Pombal, the heart of the city. At its center stands an obelisk erected in 1776, from which the radiating mosaic pavement spreads out. The three most important architectural monuments of the 18th century are also located on the square: the church, the town hall and the former guard house.

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