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Benagil cave from the cliff path
Many visitors look at Benagil cave from the coast path above it. What you can see from the clifftop, what you cannot, and how the path compares with a boat.
Book the Benagil boat tour ↗The short answer
You can see part of Benagil cave from the cliff path, for free, but not the cave as a boat shows it. A walker's guide to the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail says you can see the cave from the trail through the hole above, and calls the view limited. In other words, you look down through the roof opening and catch a glimpse of the sand and the water. You do not see the dome, the layered walls or the side opening from the sea.
The Seven Hanging Valleys Trail
The trail runs along the cliff tops between Praia da Marinha in the west and Praia do Vale de Centeanes in the east. The guide gives its length as 5.7 kilometres one way, or 11.4 kilometres out and back. It passes above the cave, which makes it a coastal walk as well as a viewpoint. You do not need to walk the whole path to see the cave, but the route is the best way to set the cave in its landscape.
What the clifftop gives you
From above you see the shape of the coast: the line of the cliffs, the small beaches in the coves, and the sea in its different colours. A cave visit by boat is horizontal and close; the path is a high and wide view. The photograph of the sea stacks at Marinha below was taken from the cliff top. The cliffs and the coves show up well from the trail on a clear day.
Getting to the start
The trail has two ends: Praia da Marinha in the west and Praia do Vale de Centeanes in the east, according to the walker's guide. Because the path is a long line along the coast, you can join it near the sections you want and walk as little or as much as you like. A short out-and-back from one end is enough to give you the view over the cliffs. Plan how you will return, since a one-way walk of 5.7 kilometres ends a long way from where you began.
What it cannot give you
The path will not show you the inside of the cave, the sound of the water under the roof or the cliffs seen from below. The view down through the hole is limited and, as the walker's guide says, you may need to lift your camera high to get it. The path also does not take you onto the cave beach, which is closed to landing anyway. If a good look at the interior is why you are here, the boat tour remains the better way, and the rules limit what any route can offer.
Take care at the edge
A cliff path in limestone is a path beside a drop. Keep to the marked trail, keep children and dogs close, and stay back from the edge, particularly in wind or rain. Wikipedia reports that safety concerns have driven the rules on visiting the cave from the sea, and the same caution applies above it. Bring water and sun protection, and wear shoes with grip.
Path or boat: how to choose
Choose the path if you like walking, want a free option or have a day when the sea is too rough for boats. Choose the boat if you want the cave's interior and the cliffs from the water. Some visitors do both, walking one stretch of coast and booking a boat on a calm day. Because the sea can stop boats entering the caves, the path is a sensible back-up for a day when the cave is not reachable, and it costs nothing but time.
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