With its miles of golden sandy beaches and year-round sunshine,
the Algarve is the most visited and popular region of Portugal,
not only with northern Europeans but with the Portuguese themselves.
This gives it an atmosphere that is quite different to much of
the country.
The
region has always had its own distinct cultural identity. Its geography
sets it apart from the rest of the country, with mountain ranges
dividing it from the neighbouring Alentejo region and a climate
more akin to the Mediterranean than the Atlantic. It was the last
part of Portugal to be taken from the Moors whose kingdom of the
Algarve had its capital at Silves until the thirteenth century.
The result is a region still influenced by its Moorish heritage,
its architecture retaining minaret-shaped chimneys and dazzling
azulejos (glazed ceramic tiles). Its cuisine also reflects its warm
climate, with superb fruits, olives, fish and seafood straight from
the land and sea.
The
traditional fishing industry largely gave way to tourism as the
region’s economic mainstay as far back as the 1960s. Most of the
coastal development is concentrated along the central section from
Lagos
to Quarteira, where series of sandy bays and cliff-backed coves
are backed by hotels, villas and all the international trappings
of modern day tourism. The most popular resorts are Praia
da Rocha with its huge beach, Armação de Pera, a popular resort
with Portuguese; Albufeira,
a one-time fishing village with a pulsating nightlife and Villamoura,
a giant upmarket holiday village focussed round Europe’s largest
marina. This stretch of coast also has a handicraft centre at Porches
and includes the main wine-producing area round Lagoa
along with various theme
parks, including water parks and Zoo Marine.
Either
side of the central strip and development is lower key. Many of
the eastern Algarve’s beaches lie on offshore sandspits which can
be reached by ferry. This has restricted development to low-key
beachside bars and cafés, leaving miles of sparsely
populated sands. These beaches can be reached from Faro,
the Algarve’s administrative capital and site of the area’s airport.
More regular ferries leave from Olhão,
a bustling port town with vestiges of its Moorish past, and from
the small town of Fuseta.
Further east, Tavira
is one of the Algarve’s most attractive towns set inland on a river
estuary close to another sandspit beach.
Much
of the coast here lies within the Reserva Natural da Ria Formosa,
a protected area for rare sea birds. East of here, development increases
once more along the accessible beaches at Manta Rota and Monte Gordo.
Eastern
Algarve ends at the town of Vila Real de Santo Antonio on the
Rio Guadiana, the river which marks the border with Spain. Head
inland from here and a very different face of the Algarve is evident;
a wild, undulating and sparsely populated landscape of farmland
and scrub, offering superb walking terrain especially along the
banks of the river itself.
The
western
Algarve is also less developed though different in character
again. The main centre here is Lagos,
a historic port town which once flourished thanks to the slave trade.
Beyond here, the coast becomes more barren and precipitous, with
steep cliffs backing sandy coves such as Luz, Burgau, Salema and
Sagres. The coast becomes increasingly wave-battered west of Cabo
de São Vicente, once considered the end of the western world. Much
of this coast has protected status as part of the Parque Natural
Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vincentina, another refuge for rare
seabirds. There are more superb beaches around Carrapateira, Aljezur
and Odeceixe, though they are more exposed, with colder waters.
Despite
the inevitable development along most of the coastline,
it is never hard to escape the holiday crowds into unspoilt, traditional
Portugal. Just head inland a few kilometres and there is great walking
territory, often through ancient cork and olive groves. There are
also countless rural villages and market towns of which Silves
is the most historic, once the capital of the Moorish Algarve and
still boasting a superb castle. Other inland areas to head for are
the mountains around Monchique and the towns of Loulé
and São Bras de Alportel, which have superb weekend markets
showing off the best in regional handicrafts and agricultural produce.
Inland Algarve also displays remnants of the region’s rich heritage,
with Roman remains at Estoi
near Faro
and superbly preserved castles at Castro Marim, Alcoutim, Loulé
and Silves.
The
Algarve is also famed for its top-class golf courses, many of which
are concentrated between Almansil and Vilamoura,
a zone sometimes known as Sportugal thanks to an array of high quality
sports
centres offering tennis, horse-riding and other activies. Almansil
is also be the site of a new stadium which will form the Algarve
base for Portugal’s Euro 2004 soccer championships.
About
the Author
•
Matthew Hancock is a freelance travel writer and author of the
mini Rough Guide to Lisbon, the forthcoming mini Rough Guide
to Madeira and the mini Rough Guide to the Algarve, and co-author
of the BBC’s Get By in Portuguese.
With its miles of golden sandy beaches and year-round sunshine,
the Algarve is the most visited and popular region of Portugal,
not only with northern Europeans but with the Portuguese themselves.
This gives it an atmosphere that is quite different to much of
the country. 
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