On the Algarve's west coast, facing the open Atlantic, the municipality of Aljezur is the heart of the Costa Vicentina, a coastline protected by the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, where dark cliffs alternate with vast, almost untouched beaches. It is a paradise for surfers, hikers and anyone seeking wild nature, very different from the resorts of the south coast.
The town
The town of Aljezur is in two parts: the old town, with white houses climbing the hill below the ruins of the tenth-century Moorish castle, with a fine view over the valley, and the newer Igreja Nova, built after the 1755 earthquake at the bishop's wish to move the town away from the marshy river area. The old centre has small museums of archaeology, sacred art and ethnography. The area is famous for batata-doce de Aljezur, a sweet potato grown in the sandy coastal soils, with protected geographical indication, celebrated with a festival in autumn.
The beaches
The municipality's beaches are among the most beautiful and wild in Portugal. Arrifana, a crescent bay below the cliffs, with the remains of a fortress and a small fishing harbour, is one of the best-known surf spots. Monte Clérigo, with its village of colourful houses, and Amoreira, at the mouth of the Aljezur stream among dunes and cliffs, are ideal for families. Further north, on the border with the Alentejo, Odeceixe is a spectacular beach at the mouth of the Seixe river, with fresh water on one side and ocean on the other. The sea here is cool and waves often strong: swim at lifeguarded beaches.
The Rota Vicentina
The coast is crossed by the Rota Vicentina, a network of hiking trails from Cape St Vincent to Santiago do Cacém, in the Alentejo. The Trilho dos Pescadores, the Fishermen's Trail, follows the paths fishermen used to reach the rocks along the clifftops, among dunes, wildflowers and storks nesting on sea stacks, the only place in the world where storks nest on sea rocks. The Caminho Histórico crosses the inland villages instead.
Getting there
Aljezur is about half an hour by car from Lagos; there are also buses. To the south lies Sagres, to the north the Alentejo with Zambujeira do Mar and Vila Nova de Milfontes.