Rocksalt Mine Loulé (Campina de Cima)

This was way cooler than I expected. It's not touristy at all - it's a real salt mine in operation. From the rickety old lift to almost getting hit by trucks in tunnels hundreds of meters under the ground, it was thrilling! All the machines were running and it was fascinating to see. I'm happy I visited now before it becomes more touristy. We had a private guide who spoke English and was quite knowledgeable. I was initially surprised by the price, but as the elevator descended into the depths of the earth I realized this was the real deal! This was an experience I'll never forget.

Great few hours out of the sun. We booked online the same day as visiting. Our guide, Alex, spoke perfect English and was extremely knowledgeable. We learnt about the history of the mine and working day details and even got to see the salt collection in action. The place is not well signposted but Google maps got us there no problem. Would recommend for all ages. Our teenagers even enjoyed it!

A very interesting experience, Alex was a great guide. I would recommend it without hesitation.

Well worth visiting while in the Algarve. A functional salt mine in the heart of Loulé. Excellent, accommodating staff made our experience that much more interesting. Our guide, Alex, was terrific. He was informative and very professional. Overall, definitely a must visit.

We. Had a great time at the salt mine. Our guide Alex was very informative and friendly and helpful answered all my questions about the mine. It's an amazing place, I thoroughly recommend it. My 8 year old son loved it too.

Amazing expirience, the guides are so informative and know there stuff well, they speak English, Portuguese and other languages, the mine is a wonder to look at. This mine is a real treat, I definitely reccomend comming here when you have the chance.

Went today together with my girlfriend, our guide was amazing! She knew so many details about the mine and the environment was breathtaking. We even had the ability to take some fractures home with us. Recommended!

Excellent tour, highly recommended. Good length and interesting balance between the geological, engineering, commercial and people aspects of this somewhat unusual and unexpected enterprise. Great guide, some fascinating insights. Easy going, would recommend to anyone, families too.

Exactly what you'd expect from an industrial tour. Great tour guide, thanks Alex. I had no booking, just rocked up (mining pun!) on a Thursday morning and joined a small group for an informative underground hour in the natural asthma-curing air-conditioner.

A terrific experience, you would never know there was so much under Loulé! Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a super tour, recommended!👍👍👍

Amazing experience! This is a must see hidden gem in the Algarve. You descend the equivalent to 80 floors into the underground on an old, smooth, well maintained, industrial elevator. This is a working mine so, not only you can see old machines from back in the day, you can also see current technology at work. The mine is huge and the terrain is flat so it’s very suited for all ages (no babies though). Our guide was very knowledgeable and you could see he has passion for what he does, he was super nice and fun. If you find yourself in the Algarve, give your skin a break from the sun and go enjoy this experience, don’t take your coat though, everyone thinks it’ll be cold down there but it’s actually a warm 23 degrees.

Unreal guide alex what a day. Learnt so much. Would recommend it

Absolutely recommendable. Very interesting, the guides are also miners themselves and know accordingly much. Our guide was great. Thank you very much for the fantastic experience

This hidden gem in Loule is so worth looking for. The guide is great, very knowledgeable and enjoys being questioned by those interested enough to ask. The tour is 1.5 hrs through huge corridors of rocksalt. It's well ventilated and spacious, the only cramped time is going in the shaft elevator to the caverns which takes approx. 3 mins. Rocksalt is used for animal feed and medicine so if you like to know how things happen go there.

Cell phone coverage is abismal, and there's no working WiFi. My cell phone really appreciated the alone time 😁

A great experience not to be missed if you are in the Loule area. Very informative guides on the history and workings of the mine. Our guides Adriana and Deborah spoke excellent English. Highly recommended

Very good

Visita guiada por 25€ por pessoa, está incluída a exposição de Santa Bárbara. Foi interessante visitar uma mina em funcionamento, em momento algum senti claustrofobia. O elevador de acesso à mina é o que mete mais respeito, principalmente a pessoas que não estão habituadas ou que nunca andaram num elevador de obra. O clima no interior da mina é ameno (23graus).

Passeio muito bom e interessante. Malta atenciosa e disponível para responder perguntas e explicar sobre a mina.

Nous pensions connaître Loulé et ses lieux à visiter, mais quelle surprise de découvrir ce site par le bouche à oreille...
Incroyable de trouver ce site en plein centre ville, à 2 pas d'un hypermarché continente....
Mine de sel gemme de 45 km linéaire de galeries, à 350 mètres de la surface, et 30 m sous le niveau de la mer. Toujours en exploitation, la mine emploie 13 personnes, dont 3 seul mineurs, qui produisent plusieurs tonnes de sel par jour !!!
1ère surprise : descente de 350 m dans une "cage" d'origine, à 5 personnes maximum. Ensuite, visite guidée sur 1.5 km dans le dédale des galeries, avec explications détaillées des guides sur l'histoire de cette mine, et le travail facilité aujourd'hui par les outils modernes. 2h de visite fantastique, avec des guides fort sympathiques qui connaissent très bien l'histoire le la mine.
Visite à faire Absolument !