If you are an Instagram user then you will have probably seen a photograph or two of Praia da Rocha beach over the summer, as the beach was officially the most hashtagged Portuguese beach on the social media platform.
According to the German holiday accommodation search engine Holidu and Portimão council, Praia da Rocha was the top beach in the country for July and August and a clear indicator of the popularity of the destination.
In total there were more than 62,000 photos with the Praia da Rocha hashtag posted on to Instagram over the two months, pushing it to the top of the rankings.
It is not hard to see why Praia da Rocha is such a favourite with Instagram users, with over one kilometre of golden sands and impressive rock formations along the coast, the beach used to be a postcard image favourite, however new technology has pushed the beach online as a way to share a holiday experience.
The other most photographed beaches in Portugal were also found in the Algarve with Ponta da Piedade in Lagos receiving 23,500 hashtags, followed by Praia da Luz also in Lagos and the iconic Marinha beach in Lagoa, both with 20,300 hashtags each.
According to The Portugal News other Algarve beaches comprising the top-10 ranking are Camilo beach (Lagos – in 7th), Falésia Beach (Albufeira, 9th) and Dona Ana (Lagos, 10th), completing the list are Portinho da Arrábida (Setúbal), Fonte da Telha (Almada) and Guincho (Cascais).
Over recent years Instagram has been instrumental in informing travellers about the beautiful destinations in the Algarve, one of these being the now famous Benagil Cave. The once quiet spot is now a mecca for tourists who flock to the caves to take a photo with #benagilcave being used over 13,000 times while #benagil has been used more than 42,000 times.
The stunning images that are taken of the Algarve have only helped to increase awareness of the region with the Algarve tourism board, who have more than 46,000 followers, using the Instagram platform to actively promote the Algarve to visitors on a global scale.
