Rocksalt Mine Loulé (Campina de Cima)

Frequently mentioned in reviews: Top-rated.online cuts through the clutter, highlighting only the reviews that are most helpful, earn the most likes, or come from the most active contributors. 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 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. Such an awesome experience. This was the first time in my life I was ever this far below ground, lol. The elevator was a little nerve racking for some in our group, but I loved it. The staff was absolutely amazing and made sure to go at a decent pace so everyone could take photos and explore. This is a definite must do, if you are in the area. Don’t go never if you care of your safety! This place shouldn’t been working! This should be closed immediately! There has only one hole to go down and back for humans. This is absolutely not safe when there happens something. There has not have the system to control how the could get out. We bought the tickets and went out at 10.30 and due to the electricity problem they couldn’t able to get us out so we should stay there for 7 HOURS!!! They have some kind of emergency lights but this isn’t working. There was a big chaos and luck of information during this hour’s. They were chatting in Portuguese, in Spanish, in Franc languages but we should have asked several times what’s happening. My spouse suggested them to use the generator to lifting to the ground then the answer was that they have this but it’s not turned on. After 2 hours they found the electrician!!!!and then decided to turn it on and discovered it isn’t working. !!! Then they decided to get to the ground with backward weights using salt bags. After several attempts they were able to lift 4 people. Then they decided to find another generator and called the local emergency company and it took another 2 hours for waiting!!!! Then they decided to connect this generator and started to test it and after long time of waiting they thought it is quite week and they should think a bit more. After waiting one “funny man” came down to tunnel and told he is the charge of emergency and started to joking!!! It seems the “funny man” didn’t have any plan how to save because he randomly asked “who’s speaking Spanish “, made some jokes with them and let the two couples Spanish speaking go at first to the ground!!!! It was absolutely big mess and chaos! We haven’t told much information in English, there has no other way out for humans. The emergency ladder was accidentally broken couple weeks back as the told and she told they had no preparation at all at this case. This kind of tourist sites don’t have to be opened at all! This is absolutely unsafe!!! Don’t go there and don’t suggest to go anyone! They don’t have thought about humans safety! You’ll be get trapped if something happens and they have no idea how to save people! Thank you to Alex, our guide, for a great tour. A group of us visited the in march. We got to the mine via bolt and it was easy to find/access. The included a walk through history of the mine, a temporary art installation and exploration. The was around 2 hours. As it is still a working mine there isn't much to do. Hopefully in the future, it can improve to include more interactive things to do inside and outside. That's a great mine, the guide's good, and it's really informative. The elevator ride was a bit nerve racking but the mine was so cool. Our was fantastic and we got to take free samples. It was a hot day in Algarve in early July and it was the perfect thing to do with my wife and family. A 22 degree temperature is maintained and there is good air circulation. Our was Adriana who was very informative and funny. We found some salt chunks to use for a candle to take home. The mines are so majestic and you can get easily lost of you’re not paying attention to where your is going. My wife and I visited the mine after seeing Michael Portillo's bit about it on Channel 5. It's well worth a try, with a very interesting who will also speak English (and some French/German?) if required. The history of salt mining here is very interesting and the mine has over 40km of tunnelling, 1.5km of which is included in the visit. Apart, perhaps, from in the antiquainted miner's lift cage, there is nothing to fear as far as claustrophobia is concerned. Helmets and helmet lamps are all provided in the entrance fee. The lift takes about 3 minutes down and 3 minutes back up again. I was one of the who visited the mine last April 28th, the day of the power cut, and I was inside. I am writing to express my concern that the company did not have suitable evacuation or rescue plan for these cases. After 6 hours we were able to get out thanks to the firefighters who brought their generators. I hope appropriate measures are taken to ensure this does not happenn again but you must know what happens in case you want to enter. Regardless this, the mines are worth visiting. Amazing place, very non-standard, but must see during the break from beaches :) 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! Website change monitoring Monitor any webpage for changes – get instant email alerts when prices drop, new jobs are posted, products come back in stock, or competitors update their sites. See how the number of reviews and average review scores have changed over time.