DK Travel : The Algarve : Outdoor

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Parque da Floresta

Built on hilly coastal terrain, this challenging par 72 can be exposed to stiff breezes, so club selection can vary considerably in the unpredictable winds. Never more so than on the short 5th, which is played from hilltop to the crown of a hillock.
Parque Natural da Ria Formosa/São Lourenço and Quinta do Lago Trails

Two one-hour nature trails reveal a rich coastal wonderland of salt marsh, woodland and freshwater lagoon. The winter months are very rewarding with huge flocks of greater flamingo and spoonbill mingling with pintail, gadwall and teal. The prize attraction, though, is the rare purple gallinule, a striking member of the coot family.
Penina Academy Course

A compact, 9-hole course laid out amid the Championship fairways. The ease of play should relax even the most nervous of players, and the adjoining golf academy offers individual or group tuition.
Penina Championship Course

A par 73 layout designed by the great golf-course architect Sir Henry Cotton in the mid-1960s. Le Meridien Penina hotel (see Luxury, Five-Star Hotels), overlooks the course, which stretches over parkland terrain, its sweeping fairways dotted by water hazards. Two of the great holes are the dogleg 5th, with its canal, lake and contoured green, and the alarming 13th, shadowed by water from tee to green.
Penina Circuit

A real hike in the hills that will appeal to the experienced hill walker. The region is a protected area of outstanding natural beauty and bristles with aromatic lavender and rosemary. Nativecistus species are the dominant shrubs. The walk passes two ancient defensive walls and the Cave of the Moors.
Penina Golf

The masterpiece 18-hole, par 73 Championship course was designed by golf guru Sir Henry Cotton and has hosted the Portuguese Open.
Pinheiro Altos

This par 72 is very much of two halves. The outward nine snake lazily through lofty pine wood, while the back nine skirt some daunting water hazards. The course falls within the Ria Formosa nature reserve, making it an especially attractive course.
Pinheiros Altos

An independent 18-hole, par 72 course built on the Quinta do Lago estate, embracing part of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa.
Pinta Course, Pestana Carvoeiro

An ancient olive tree spreads over one of the greens of the 18-hole Pinta course. The 18-hole Gramacho layout has some heavily bunkered greens.
Pinta Course, Pestana Carvoeiro

One of the layout’s wonders is a stately olive tree, believed to be over 1,200 years old. In fact, most of the natural contours of this par 71 estate were retained to include the ancient tree life that characterizes this course. Pinta is home to the prestigious David Leadbetter Academy.