The western end which juts out into the Atlantic is a rugged, undeveloped area, which has retained its natural charm, and is extremely dramatic, with cliffs of black rock from which Algarvian fishermen cling precariously hundreds of feet above the sea, for hours on end.

Nothing appears to have changed over the centuries, and the entire area is virtually untouched by tourism. The beaches here vary from tiny, intimate coves to long lengths of open soft sand, where the Atlantic waves crash and retreat.

The more southern coastline is home to the fabulous beaches of golden sands and clear seas that the Algarve is famous for. You are sure to find the perfect stretch of sand for you, whether it be a quiet, intimate cove where you can relax by yourself, or a lively, more active beach with shops and restaurants aplenty, and watersports and family fun. The region's capital, Faro, is built around a charming harbour at the edge of a wide lagoon. Its main attractions include a maritime museum and a 13th century cathedral.

There were Phoenician trading ports in the Algarve three thousand years ago, and the Carthaginians founded Portus Hanibalis, modern Portimão, in the sixth century BC.

The Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the second century BC took in the Algarve, and there are important Roman remains in Lagos.

The Visigoths took the area in the fifth century, being expelled by the Moors in 716. It was the latter who named the region Al-Gharb , the country of the west, and they occupied it for longer than any other part of Portugal.

Alfonso III finally took the Algarve from the Moors in 1250 (so completing the reconquest of Portugal). In the fifteenth century, Henry the Navigator used the Algarve as the jumping-off point for the voyages of discovery which laid the foundations of the Portuguese Empire.

He established an important school of navigation at Sagres, and made Lagos a ship-building centre. But the Portuguese capital was in Lisbon, to which most of the colonial wealth went, and the Algarve entered a period of economic decline. The great earthquake of 1755 which destroyed much of Lisbon hit the Algarve hard as well, and the subsequent reconstruction left many of its towns with a distinctive, rationalist architectural style. Nothing would have such a sweeping effect on the region until the tourist boom of the nineteen sixties and seventies.

The summer months see high temperatures that attract the beach-goers and sun-lovers from around the world, and with it's world-renowned beaches of fine golden sand spanning the coast-line in front of the calm, clear seas, the Algarve is a European paradise for sun-seekers. With more hours of sunshine than California and only short periods of rainfall, generally between November and March, the Algarve has the perfect weather and climate for tourism. The maximum temperatures in the Algarve fluctuate between 15°C and 31 °C, with the temperature never falling below zero in the winter months. Average temperatures in the Algarve:

Golfing in the Algarve: