Here can be found the famous Ilha do Pessegueiro, or Peachtree Island, with its ancient fort.

The parish of Porto Covo was established in December 31st, 1984, detached from  Sines.

A song Rui Veloso  made this town famous and known amoung the Portuguese.

The population in 2011 was 1,909,  in an area of 34.37 km².

 It is historically connected to the early Portuguese Age of Discovery.

The name Sagres, follows from Sagrado (holy) owing to the important local religious practices and rituals that occurred during the pre-history of the nation. From here some of the Mediterranean peoples (including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans), venerated their divinities and which some believed, owing to the absence of a human settlement, was the gathering place for their gods. Christinas (Mozarabs) that lived in this zone, during the Muslim occupation, erected the Church of Corvo, where the mortal remains of the saint Vincent were deposited in the 8th century. The presence of martyr’s remains lead the Portuguese to refer to the site and the peninsula as the Cape of Saint Vincent.

The area has been intrinsically linked to the nautical school first developed by Prince Henry the Navigator, which was installed in the 15th century.^[3] Although born in the provincial city of Porto (1394), he would be connected with his life in the parish, until his death in 1460, being known as the Infante of Sagres.^[3] Although there existed a medieval settlement in this area (Terçanabal), all the land was donated on 27 October 1443 to Infante Henry. The prince was associated with the Military Order of Christ, Duke of Viseu, Master of Covilã and a man preoccupied with his signeurial holdings and defense of his faith. Henry obtained his wealth from the lands he held and the fisheries in the Algarve, and therefore preoccupied himself with needs of his workers, both materially and spiritually, and therefore invested in the founding of a village (later known as theVila do Infante) to assist the population.^[3] The fortified town was situated on the Ponta de Sagres, a strategic point dominated the coves of Mareta and Beliche. Henry’s controlled his material interests from his villa, located on the clifftops, and when he died on 13 November 1460, the Portuguese navigators and other services, had already reached Sierra Leon.

Sagres was created in 1519, through the division of the municipality of Vila do Bispo.

King Sebastian was known to have spent time in the parish, listening to music along the cliffs and the sea. A chronicle of the 16th century, referred to the young Kings stay at the Convent of São Vicente do Cabo, and later, locals recounted that King was enchanted by the landscape of Sagres.

In May 1587, Francis Drake (one of more notable adventurers and military officers in the Court of Elizabeth) disembarked 800 men who assaulted the fortress of Sagres. After two hours of intense combat, fortifications adjacent to the fortress were destroyed and its artillery was pillaged.

Until 1834, Sagres was an independent municipality, consisting of little more than 413 inhabitants.

This is a region of ancient Roman occupation, existing within the Raposeira important prehistoric legacy as the Menhir of Aspradantes or menhirs set of Milrei and Standard.

In Raposeira resided Infante Dom Henrique, such proximity to Sagres, Portugal preparing for the golden Age of Discovery.

The parish has a beautiful and simple Church in Manueline style, the sixteenth century, which has a strange decorative effect, caused by a human face inserted into the white wall.

VI.

It is the seat of a municipality with 179.06 square kilometers of area1 and 5258 inhabitants (2011), subdivided into 2 3 4 freguesias.4 The municipality is limited to the northern city of Lagos, northeast of Lagos and the south and west coast has in the Atlantic Ocean.

The coastline of the city, from the west coast to the beach at Burgau east, is part of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.

The first known references to Bishop Village arise in the fourteenth century in a document of King Afonso IV, a letter Bar, dated March 27, 1329, and later in 1353 another charter in which the monarch deprive the church, Bishop and Silves Fitted jurisdiction “… the village they call the bishop, that he at Cape Sam Vincent …” 5 incorporating it at the end of Silves (Portugal).

These two charters go against the version of the story, so often repeated 6, the Village of the Bishop (later Vila do Bispo) have arisen from the donation of the village of Santa Maria Cape made by King Manuel to Bishop Fernando Coutinho.

It is simplistic idea that the village of Santa Maria Cape, having been donated in 1515 to the Bishop, rinse to be known as the Bishop Village. As evidenced by the letters of 1329 and 1353 the Bishop’s Village has existed since the fourteenth century.

In fact the village of Santa Maria Cape and the Bishop’s Village were two separate villages.

The Village of the Bishop stood initially more to the west of the current population, as shown by the writings of Father Luis Cardoso, in the eighteenth century, when it mentions the mother church, stating that the church was out of town a short distance from her, and the Village Santa Maria Cape, now extinct, stood at Curraes of Granja7.

The Bishop Fernando Coutinho (lord of Aldeia do Bispo) received a donation of D. Manuel, the village of Santa Maria Cape and integrated it in the perimeter of Bispo8 Village.

Is probably the pirate Francis Drake fire and destruction of the village of Santa Maria Cape.

The Vila do Bispo municipality has the largest concentration of menhirs in the Algarve. With a known number of around 300 exemplares10. They consist mostly of white limestone, whose whiteness makes them an element that stands out in the landscape, and is also known, in the county, three copies in sandstone. With sub-cylindrical forms, sub-conical, star or simple standing stones, the vast majority of menhirs are decorated.

The most common decorations in menhirs of Vila do Bispo municipality are:

(i) 3 or 4 sets of parallel wavy lines;
(ii) the targeted sets of ellipses;
(iii) non-threaded assemblies ellipses extending from the top to the bottom of the menir;
(iv) semi-ellipses sets that are organized around a cord on top of the menhir (see photo). It is not known its meaning.

Zambujeira’s coast is part of the Nature Park of the Southwest Alentejo.

Zambujeira do Mar is a parish of Odemira, with 42.96 km ² and 912 inhabitants (2011). Density: 21.2 inhabitants / km². Became a parish on 30 June 1989 (before belonged to the parish of St. Teotónio), being the smallest county.

Its coast, part of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina, is trimmed with cliffs and small beaches, outside the tourist season, are havens used by few. These are in addition to the central beach of Zambujeira, beaches Alteirinhos, Our Lady, Arquinha and Vat.

The main activity is tourism, but are also relevant to agriculture, livestock and fisheries, housing one of the four county ports (called Barca Input). In recent years, it has grown quite rural tourism, with a handful of quality resorts around the village.

In August are held the top three zambujeirense calendar events: in the 1st half of the month, the Southwest Festival, the largest summer music festivals in the country, based a few miles from the village; on 15 August, the religious parties and procession dedicated to the local patron saint, Our Lady of the Sea; on 29 August, the annual fair.

The community land, the Cultural and Recreational Association Zambujeirense, performs various recreational, cultural and sporting activities.

Beaches

Zambujeira do Mar Beach
One of the most known and popular beaches in the region and one of its major cards Business. Protected by high cliffs, lies at the mouth of a stream, near the locality. At the south end where it was erected a chapel, dangerous form-currents that can drag the most unprepared. Very popular for surfing and bodyboarding.

Alteirinhos Beach
This beach protected by a high cliff used to be a good alternative to the usual hustle and bustle of the beach Zambujeira do Mar, but in recent years are increasingly bathers who seek it. During low tide you can enjoy yourself all its originality: the small coves widen, forming a huge beach sprinkled with rocks, pools and ponds, full of limpets, mussels and shrimp. The rock that extends by the sea is a favorite fishing grounds in the region. Access: follow the dirt road to South Beach Zambujeira do Mar. At the top of the cliff, next to the pine trees, turn towards the coast. Then down the steps carved into the rock.

Nossa Senhora, “Our Lady” beach
In the north exit of Zambujeira, the dunes in front of the last houses, a staircase on the cliff leads to this beach, with more gravel than sand.

Tonel Beach
Cove nestled on a high cliff, the descent to the beach is carried out by a rail to sink. The rocky wall and the walk to the beach are impressive – the beach is at the foot, crushed by stone blocks. From the top of the cliff, next to the cable Pendoradoiro, has become one of the most beautiful landscapes in the region. Access: follow the dirt road that begins at the municipal road between Cape Saint Vincent and the Zambujeira do Mar, near the hill of Herdade do Touril.

According Adalberto Alves, on your Arabisms dictionary of the Portuguese language, the origin of Seixe place-name is the Arabic word sayh, ‘torrent’.

The main watercourse initially takes the Ribeira name Leg Black. It feeds on several streams that descend from the Serra de Monchique. After a journey of about 6 km, receives the Brook Stream, on the left bank, and immediately after the Ribeira do Montinho.

Near the towns of Foz Leg Drought and Bemparece, receives the Ribeira do Lameiro. From here is called Ribeira Seixe. Then passes through Valley Eagle, Reguengo and Zambujeira de Baixo, towards east – west. Then takes the northwest direction and passes near the village of St. Michael and Baiona until arriving next to Odeceixe village, returning to take the westbound to the mouth, in Odeceixe Beach on the Atlantic Ocean.

This final leg is part of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.

Rogil has two beaches:

Vale dos Homens Beach

Carriagem Beach

The coastline of the parish is part of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.

Aljezur was founded in the tenth century by the Arabs who remained here for five centuries before the Christian conquest and here left important marks such as the castle, your tank, the place names, like many legends and folktales.

In the thirteenth century, during the reign of Afonso III, Aljezur was definitely taken from the Moors by Paio Peres Correia. Aljezur is replaced by charter from November 12, 1280, granted by King D. Dinis.

On June 1, 1504, D. Manuel reformed Charter Diplomatic D. Dinis, giving the town the title of  “Noble and Honorable.”

In 1725 Aljezur was deeply devastated by an earthquake. The Bishop Francisco Gomes de Avelar had built the Church of Our Lady D’Alva in place opposite the village so that the inhabitants should be transferred to that location and there grow a new population center, changing its name to the new church.

With a line of very rocky coast, which is interrupted several times by wonderful beaches that give name to the various beaches. Almost all beaches are the mouths of major rivers in the region. Along the beaches can observe the imposing cliffs, carved from schist and greywacke, sharply of gray and black.

• Beach do Amado
• Beach da Amoreira
• Beach da Arrifana
• Beach da Bordeira
• Beach da Carreagem
• Beach do Monte Clérigo
• Beach de Odeceixe
• Beach do Penedo
• Beach  da Quebrada
• Beach da Samouqueira
• Beach de Vale dos Homens
• Beach de Vale Figueiras

The focal point of the village is the village of Odeceixe, Algarve, situated along a hill, near Ribeira Seixe. The roads have, for the most part, a reduced width, being usually lined with white-washed buildings. It is located on the border with the county of Beja in the Alentejo, with road access made by the National Highway 120, which runs along the localidade.

It is the first coastal town in the Algarve.

The site of the castle was occupied, successively and uninterrupted by Lusitanians, who constructed a castro to oversee their lands, before being pushed aside by the Romans, who constructed a lookout.By the 7th-8th century, the Visigothsalso used the space as a sentry to safeguard their territory.

By the beginning of the 10th century, a small town was founded by Arabs, who reformulated their defences, constructing various dependencies within and outside the walls.^[1][3][4] Of these constructions, only the cistern in the castle survives their period of occupation. The castle was part of the Moorish defensive line of Silves, during the Almohad Caliphate and era of the Iberian taifas.

In 1242 (or 1246), Aljezur was conquered by knights loyal to Paio Peres Correia. As legend suggests, the conquest of the castle aided by a Moorish woman, who betrayed her fellow countrymen and delivered the citadel into the hands of the knights The Lenda of Maira Aires, also suggests that the castle was taken by Paio Correia on 24 June, on the feast day of the village’s patron saint. Its occupation did not result in the partial or total destruction of the castle, although alterations to the fortress occurred in the first decades of its Christian occupation.

Following the 1267 Treaty of Badajoz, the castle and other fortresses along the Algarve were transferred into the dominion of the King Afonso III of Portugalby Alfonso X of Castile.^[3] King Denis of Portugal issued a foral (charter) to the region of Aljezur on 12 November 1280, while staying in Estremoz. Thirty years later, the monarch bartered away the Castle of Aljezur and other lands for the town of Almada (1 December 1297).

In 1448, during a visitation by members of the Order of Santiago to the town of Aljezur, they referred to the castle being in a state of abandon, at the same time prohibiting the removal of rock and masonry from the site for other constructions.^[1][3]Further, the report mentioned directions by the Order to reconstruct the walls and the cleaning of the cistern.

On 20 August 1504, King Manuel of Portugal reissued a foral from Lisbon, where he conferred the title of honrada(honoured) to the charter (seen as a way to attract new settlers to the region).

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake caused the destruction of all the homes in the town, and demolishing most of the castle, saving only the tribune and the Presbytery in the church.