Explore the Tech Salt saltmine in Loulé (Algarve)

Descend 230 meters in a metal cage into the Tech Salt salt mine in Loulé

In films you sometimes see how miners descend in a rickety metal elevator into the darkness with the only light source being the headlamps of their helmets. Rocking, the elevator sinks further and the last bit of daylight disappears while the temperature also slowly begins to drop. After a few minutes of squeaking and creaking, the metal door opens again and they are standing in a tunnel system dug by man and machine, while the elevator leaves behind them.

You too can now experience such an adventure in the Algarve, at the Tech Salt salt mine! Just outside the center of the old town of Loulé , you will find this still operational salt mine that has also been open to visitors since 2019. After a slow start, due to a certain pandemic that wishes to remain anonymous, several excursions now depart daily under the guidance of experienced guides who until recently operated the machines that can be found in the tunnel system.

Check availability for a tour of the Tech Salt salt mine below:

A visit to Tech Salt: the deepest salt mine in Portugal

From the surface, the industrial estate doesn’t look like much and if you didn’t know there was a mine here, you would drive right past it. Apart from a small administrative office and a sanitary block, there is only one other building: a small house in which two thick cables disappear into the ground. But appearances are deceptive: from here the miner’s adventure to the salt mine of Tech Salt starts ! After meeting the guide and receiving a helmet and headlamp, it is time to descend into the darkness in a metal cage with 6 people at a time. Even though the lift looks a bit claustrophobic and swings a bit, our guide Alex reassures us by telling us that the cable can carry a weight of one and a half tons, so a group of visitors should not be a problem!

Descend 230 meters into the darkness

The 230-meter descent takes about three minutes. That’s the equivalent of an 80-story apartment building, but in the opposite direction. After the rest of the group has arrived, the one-and-a-half-kilometer walk through the labyrinth of excavated tunnels begins. ” Can you get lost here? ” asks one of the children of an English family. ” Absolutely !” says Alex. The tunnel system is 45 kilometers long and only a small part of it is lit, because the rest has already been completely excavated. Since there are also intersections everywhere, the tactic of following one wall is pointless: you will keep walking in circles. Fortunately, the tunnels the tour passes through are well lit and the corridors are wide & high. It does not feel claustrophobic at all (unlike the elevator).

From explosives to diamond drilling

During the walk we pass various machines. Some retired and only for exhibition; others still in full use. Alex tells us how in the past explosives were mainly used to dig out the cave, nowadays they have drilling machines (some even fully electric!) that work a little less explosively. The difference is clearly visible between the old and the new passages. Where in the time of dynamite the holes in the walls and ceiling were much rougher, the ‘modern’ tunnels look a little more modestly dug. One of the impressive devices we come across is a diamond drill for advanced users, with which one and a half tons of salt can be dug out per minute with its many teeth!

But wait, if we just came down a small shaft, how did these huge machines get here? The answer is: part by part. Above ground they completely dismantle the big machines and below they screw them back together. All in all, dismantling, lowering the parts and reassembling takes about 3 weeks! You shouldn’t let me do that, because then I’ll have a quarter of the parts left after the last step.

Discovered by chance by dehydrated farmers

As we continue through the extensive tunnels, Alex tells us more about the history of the mine, which was discovered by chance. In the 1950s, there was a long drought in this part of Portugal, which caused local farmers to search for underground water reservoirs to pump up drinking water. While drilling, they discovered that the water they were using to cool the drill was leaving salt crystals behind as it evaporated. When they called in a geologist, they discovered that there were huge amounts of salt rock in the ground. Soon after, plans were made for a mine. In its peak years, the mine was active 24/7 and thousands of tons were dug out each year. Today, the demand for this type of salt is not as high as it used to be. Incidentally, this is not the type of salt that is suitable for consumption, but it is used for salting highways in frosty conditions, making animal feed and of course salt rock lamps. In terms of revenue, they now rely more on guided tours than on salt mining. They now work exclusively on a commission basis.

Medical applications of a salt mine?

As a truck unloads a load of salt above the sorting machine, a lot of dust is blown up. However, none of the staff are wearing face masks. Alex says that unlike almost all other types of mines, working in a salt mine has almost no negative health effects, apart from a lack of sunlight. A few years ago, a clinical experiment was even conducted in which patients with chronic asthma and similar complaints stayed in the salt mine for six hours every day for a month. It turned out that some of the patients saw a decrease in their health complaints afterwards. They hope to be able to perform more tests in the future in order to help more people with health complaints.

My recommendation & visitor information

After about an hour and a half the tour ends and we take the squeaky metal elevator back to the surface. During the tour Alex was able to tell us a lot about the history of the mine, enriched with interesting facts and anecdotes. It was a very interesting experience and I definitely recommend a visit to the Tech Salt mine! If you are looking for cooling during your visit to the Algarve (the temperature in the cave is a comfortable 21 degrees) or are looking for an activity that has nothing to do with seawater, this is the place for you! Although the latter is not entirely true, because the salt stone bottom is a remnant of dried seawater millions of years ago.

Guided tours : Monday to Friday at 09:30 – 11:00 – 14:30 en 16:00
Entrance fee : €25.00 pp for adults, children €15.00, seniors (65+) €20.00
Tickets:  Advance reservation is required.
Location : Rua Combatentes da Grande Guerra 80, 8100-616 Loulé

Check availability for a tour of the Tech Salt salt mine below:

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