Monchique

The green mountains of the Serra de Monchique form a green barrier between the Algarve and the Alentejo. The hill rise up suddenly, sheltering hidden valley and deep ravines, the slops wooded with chestnut. cork oaks and pine, giving way to clearings ablaze with flowers. Viewed from Alto da Foia (902m), the hills range below like A grassy green carpet, and in the distance the sea glitters along the coast. The village hugs the rugged hillside, and the houses tumble down to the square fronted by the Parish Church with its exuberant manueline doorway. Caldas de Monchique is a spa where the thermal waters were tapped by both Romans and Arabs. Hidden in narrow mountain ravine, the spa operates to this day. Monchique is an invitation to calm, where the springs well up from the hillside, and the chill waters play in the warm sunshine.