ALCOUTIM, a cul-de-sac town on the banks of the Guadiana river 40 km north of where the river enters the sea at Vila Real de Santo António. At both Alcoutim and the adjacent Spanish village of San Lucar de Guadiana there are castle ruins hauntingly recalling centuries of fearful vigilance across the border.

The fear and loathing has gone. So have the customs men. All that separates the two communities now is a narrow stretch of placid, slow-moving water.

Of the typically Algarvean villages in the broad radius around Loulé, the largest and one of the most beautifully situated on the almond-covered, south-facing slopes is SÃO BRÁS DE ALPORTEL. The town is overlooked by one of the Algarve's two pousadas (the other being at Sagres).

Below São Brás, ESTÓI is famous for its Milreu Roman ruins and its curious 18th-century palácio. The centrepiece of the nearby village of SANTA BÁRBARA DE NEXE is its 15th-century Gothic church.

To the northwest, PADERNE and SALIR are ancient settlements with vestiges of their Moorish past. Each has castle ruins. QUERENÇA and the neighbouring Cerro dos Negros (402metres) have fine views. BARRANCO DO VELHO is the gateway to the remote, wholly undeveloped northeast section of the Algarve.

Once you are up on the plateau in the vicinity of CACHOPO and MARTILONGO, a wonderful wilderness of rounded hills rolls on and on eastwards to the quiet banks of the Guadiana River. ALCOUTIM, with its medieval fortress ruins, and other forgotten backwater villages are waiting to be rediscovered.


Visit: Câmara Municipal de Alcoutim