Lagoa, Faro, Aug. 13, 2024 (Lusa) - New access rules apply in the Benagil caves, in the municipality of Lagoa, in Portugal's Algarve region, from Tuesday, including a ban on visitors disembarking and swimming inside the coastal formations.

The new measures, which aim to regulate the traffic of tourist boats, private individuals and beach users, both inside the Benagil cave and grotto and their vicinity, were published in a notice on 30 July.

It is now forbidden for private individuals and companies to disembark or use the sand inside the Benagil grotto, to access the caves by swimming or with buoyancy aids, or to hire kayaks without a guide in the area of the caves.

There are also limits on the number of boats and kayaks that may be inside the cave at any one time, maximum times for visits and a ratio of one kayak guide for every six kayaks with visitors for kayak trips in the area.

There are also fines, which in the most serious cases can be up to €216,000, for tourist boat operators who do not comply with the rules set out in the notice.

Located off Benagil beach, the caves are considered to be an important natural heritage site and one of the Algarve's main tourist attractions which, during the summer period, has attracted an increasing number of visitors, especially by sea.

The notice, which comes into force 10 working days after its publication, is the result of work carried out by the Benagil Caves Working Group, formed in August 2023.

FPB/ARO // ARO.

Lusa