The conditions and capacity for access to the Benagil Caves, in the municipality of Lagoa, in the Algarve, will be defined by a working group coordinated by the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR).

The Algarve CCDR noted that the creation of this multidisciplinary working group has been published in the Diário da República and added that the final results will “establish the human carrying capacity” and “determine the conditions of access to the Benagil Caves”, located in the south coast of Faro district.

“The Benagil Caves, located off Praia de Benagil, in the municipality of Lagoa, are one of the main tourist attractions in the Algarve, namely Algar de Benagil. These natural caves have aroused, in recent years, the curiosity of a growing number of people, who seek them out by sea, leading to a significant increase in the number of visitors staying in that area, especially during the summer period”, explained the CCDR in a communication.

Therefore, “it is necessary to define the maximum limit of human carrying capacity” at the location and “it is essential to regulate the respective access” to guarantee the “protection and prevention of risk situations for people’s safety”, explained the CCDR, stressing that this is an area subject to erosion and where security must be “reinforced”.

The order was signed by the Secretaries of State for National Defense, Tourism, Commerce and Services, Sea, Environment, Nature Conservation and Forests, Local Administration and Spatial Planning and Fisheries and the group's conclusions and final proposal of work will be presented by December 31, 2023.


Admission fees

The CCDR also highlighted that the working group will “define the type of vessels authorised to access the Benagil Caves” and establish “the way to proceed with this access, namely, the length, breadth, maximum capacity, type and activity, speed and other procedures to be carried out by vessels”.

The establishment of “access control mechanisms”, “security reinforcement measures” and “supervision and control of compliance with the fixed human carrying capacity limit” are also objectives to be achieved by the working group, which will also study the creation of a “single access fee to the Benagil Caves”.

The CCDR clarified that the group will be composed of “representatives of the various public and private entities with competence and intervention in that field” and that, in its role as coordinator, it will ensure the necessary logistical and administrative support until the group’s extinction, which will coincide with the presentation of the conclusions and the final proposal by the end of the year.