The Kingdom of Algarve
A view of the Serra do Caldeirão in Ameixial. Photo by Filipe Gill
Most people know Algarve through the beautiful beaches, mild climate, and grilled fish. Not a bad start. But there is a lot more.
Known until the early XX century as the ‘kingdom of the Algarve’ it is a region of southern continental Portugal bordering Alentejo to the north. the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and Spain to the east.
The Algarve is the most Moorish of the Portuguese regions, and the last to be conquered by the Kingdom of Portugal. It means ‘the West’ – Algharb – in Arabic because it was the western part of the Al Andaluz.
For centuries was very isolated from the rest of Portugal because of the mountains on the north; Serra de Monchique on the west and Serra do Caldeirão in the central and eastern Algarve.
We can divide Algarve into three main regions: the Coast, the Barrocal, and the Serra.
The Coast is the better known, the more populated, with far too many hotels and resorts. There is where you will find the World famous beaches with warm water and white sand beaches.
The Barrocal is my favorite part of the Algarve. It is the place that makes it unique. It starts a few kilometers from the coast and stretches to the Serra. The smell is unmistakable: the combination of orange, fig, carob and almond trees that we still – miraculously – find in a very natural state “em regime de sequeiro”, meaning planted and kept the traditional way, sparsely planted and with no added water, giving it a very intense smell and taste. It is also the place where the weather is mild with balmy Summer evenings where you can sleep outside under the stars – I have done it many times. It is the region where you can find charming, quiet but historic towns like Silves and São Brás de Alportel.
The Serra is the most remote and forgotten part of the Algarve. Not much happens there apart from nature getting on with life. It is, nevertheless, a region to explore if you like nature and walking. The Via Algarviana crossed the Algarve along the Serras from Alcoutim in the East, to Sagres in the extreme West. The food is very different from the coastal seafood and grilled fish. More in the future about the food of the Serra.
6 things to try in the Algarve that I think are genuine and interesting:
Salada Montanheira (ripe tomato salad with onion and dried oregano)
Xerém (Cream of maize, or corn, flour with shellfish)
Muxama (sun dried tuna. Typical of Vila Real de Santo António)
Medronho, Aguardente de (Arbutus or Strawberry Tree eau-de-vie)
Tarte de Alfarroba (Carob tart. Beautifully dark and not too sweet)
Cenouras à Algarvia (A great starter made with marinated carrots).
Recommended song:
Ala dos Namorados & Sara Tavares & Nuno Guerreiro - solta-se o beijo
