April brings MotoGP, Walking Festival and Easter celebrations to Algarve

The MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal, the Walking Festival Ameixial and São Brás de Alportel’s Easter flower torch festival ‘Festa das Tochas Floridas’ are among the highlights of the Algarve’s cultural calendar for April.

Motorsports fans will be delighted by the return of MotoGP racing to the Algarve International Racetrack, which will host another Grand Prix of Portugal between April 22 and 24.

Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira, who celebrated an impressive win at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia on March 20, will hope to continue his hot streak and repeat his 2020 victory in the Algarve.

April will also mark the return of São Brás de Alportel’s hugely popular Easter event Festa das Tochas Floridas (Flower Torch Festival), which was cancelled for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Taking place on Easter Sunday (April 17), the event will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus of Christ by adorning streets with ‘carpets’ of flowers and organising a procession of local citizens carrying torches of flowers while chanting religious hymns.

For lovers of the outdoors, the Walking Festival Ameixial will challenge them to discover the “secrets of the cultural and natural heritage that are hidden beyond the beauty of the Algarve coast, along one of the best walking destinations in the world”.

Taking place in the rural area of Ameixial (Loulé) between April 22 and 25, the event will return for its 9th edition with the full programme due to be announced soon.

But these are just some of the main events taking place in the Algarve in April. Also planned are several Easter-themed events, from concerts to fairs focusing on Portugal’s delicious ‘folar’ Easter cake.

Information on these and other events can be found in ‘Guia Algarve’, a guide in Portuguese and English launched every month detailing what is going on in the Algarve. The physical guide is also distributed for free at Faro Airport, hotels, travel agencies, rent-a-cars and golf courses.

By Michael Bruxo
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