MONCHIQUE, Portugal (dpa) – The Algarve region of Portugal traditionally attracts two types of tourists: beach-goers and golfers.
Yet southern Portugal’s sun-drenched coastline has much more to offer than just cosy bays, bizarre rock formations and greensward. Delve more deeply into its hinterland and you will find a different world.The narrow mountain road from Monchique up to La Foia, at 900 metres the highest point in the Monchique Mountains, is endlessly winding. High on this barren ground you can look down over the whole Algarve coast.“Through the mist on you left you can see Faro. And far off to the right is Sagres, the southwestern tip of Europe,” the guide told tourists on his jeep safari tour. “It is more than 100 kilometres away.”A few more curves upwards and we had reached the summit. Radio transmitters and antennas did not do much for the plateau, but the grandiose views over the Atlantic Ocean more than compensate.The Foia summit is the highest point of the Serra de Monchique, the mountain range stretching 50 kilometres north of the coastal town of Portimao. The thick mountain forests, with its remote valleys, wild rivers and unspoilt flora and fauna, protect the coast from the hilly countryside of the neighbouring Alentejo region.Gnarled cork oak and eucalyptus trees grow on the steep slopes. Bananas, oranges, walnuts and herbs such as myrrh, mint, sage, bay, rosemary and thyme are also to be found here. Eagles circle over the mountain peaks, and storks, herons and flamingos lie in wait of prey in the rivers.It could hardly be in starker contrast to the less pleasant effects of mass tourism in the pulsating holiday resorts down on the coast. Albufeira, with its hotels, apartment complexes, supermarkets and discos, has long lost its original character as a fishing village. Skyscrapers dominate the landscape at the Praia da Roca near Portimao, in Armacao de Pera and Quarteira.But just 20 kilometres inland, where the mountains begin, you can find the Algarve in its unspoilt glory, with lonely hamlets where the pace of life is slow. It you are looking for peace rather than partying, then the Serra de Monchique is the place.Culture-seekers go to Silves, on the eastern edge of the mountains. Under Arabic rule, Silves was the capital of the Algarve, competing with the Moorish metropoles of Granada and Cordoba. The imposing castle here is witness to this past. Later, the Christians built a Gothic cathedral here between the 13th and 15th centuries, one of the most important churches in the Algarve, which until recently was also a bishopric.Further east you come to the quiet green countryside of the Serra do Caldeirao. Houses in the villages here are painted white with blue edges. The white protects them from the sun, which in summer can soar to 50 degrees Celcius at midday. The blue, according to Portuguese superstition, is ward off evil spirits.The remote Rocha da Pena, near the town of Alte, is a favourite destination for hikers. The chalk rock towers 500 metres over the hilly landscape. It is very quiet here, only the chirping of crickets breaks the silence.Continuing over a dusty gravel path, you pass the tiny village of Penina and a small cafe at the foot of the rocks. The five-kilometre circular path through this protected nature reserve should not be missed. You can pick up leaflet guides in English from the cafe. Be sure to take plenty of water and adequate head covering – the temperature often exceeds 25 degrees centigrade in spring.In the far west of the Algarve is the little town of Sagres, where discoverers are said to have set sail. On the Cabo Sao Vincente further to the southwest, the wind is always stronger than elsewhere in the Algarve. Enthroned on the imposing cliffs here is a lighthouse with the most powerful light in Europe that can be seen at night 90 kilometres out to sea.This is the starting point of the Costa Vincentina, the most remote part of the Algarve. Many of the untouched little bathing bays are almost empty, even in July and August. Some beaches, such as those near Vilo do Bispo and Carrapateira, are not even signposted. You reach them on narrow paths through gorges down to the sea. Only the most resourceful nature lovers find their way through to the coast – but they are rewarded by waves breaking wildly on the beach.
