Cerca dos Pomares

The House
The Surroundings
Overwinter

Narrow streets wind their way from the cottage up to the "Castelo" of Aljezur, the ruins of an ancient medieval castle and symbol of the city with a beautiful wide view up to the foothills of the Serra de Monchique and over the fields and river.

Aljezur and the surrounding area

The “new” church and its adjoining village square is venue for concerts and traditional festivities in the summer months. It is surrounded by small bars and restaurants that function as a central meeting point for the residents who drink their daily “cafezinho”, “vinho tinto” or “medronho” or just gossip about the latest news of the town.
Aljezur has about 3,500 inhabitants and is a typical Portuguese small town where life is traditional. Every day there is a richly stocked fruit, vegetable and fish market, which also offers regional products such as honey, brandy, figs, oregano, eggs, and flowers.
The Saturday farmer’s market is worth a visit as is the monthly gypsy and livestock market where one can find everything one needs in daily life.
In Aljezur there are several cafes, bars and restaurants, banks and a post office, food, clothing, souvenir and tool shops, a school, a swimming pool, and surf shops.
The view to the west of the "Castelo" pictures a vast nature reserve with original untouched vegetation, the habitat for many rare butterflies and birds. In the distance you can hear the sound of the sea waves.

The sea

Resembling a pearl necklace various small and large beaches can be found in every bay along the coast. The bright, fine sandy beaches are often framed by the Algarve typical coastal slopes covered in wild herbs such as thyme and rosemary, Agaves and flowering succulents. The sea around Aljezur is a paradise for surfers. Surf schools lend out equipment and offer courses for young and old directly on the beaches. The Atlantic Ocean can be a rebellious sea, with waves and currents, but the bathing on the beaches is monitored during the summer month by several lifeguards. Red, yellow and green flags are hoisted to inform bathers about the seas behavior and which precautions they should adopt.
The water temperature of the Atlantic is around 24°C in summer and 18°C in the Winter month. But Aljerzur's beaches offer way more than the above-mentioned sun and sea bathing and surfing, there is also the possibility to hike along the coast alone or upon request accompanied by a guide and/or for several days and even to share this experience with donkeys.
Let's not forget the mouthwatering fresh caught seafood at the numerous beach restaurants.

The Serra

East of Aljezur, at the foothills of Algarve's highest hill, begins the typical western Algarve gently undulating and evergreen landscape. On the southern hillsides vegetation consists mainly of Cistus and lavender bushes covering them in an aromatically fragrant white and purple blossom cloak in spring time. On their north side grow forests of cork oaks and Medronho bushes, whose fruits are the base of Medronho - a traditional Schnaps of the Algarve. Wild growing olive and eucalyptus trees, blackberries and wild flowers give the Serra its original untamed appearance. The valleys of the Serra are loosely sparsely populated. In the gardens and fields of the few houses grow vegetables, corn and grains and you can watch the locals collect oranges, apricots, plums, passion fruits,etc… Around each house blooming flowers line the wine plant grapevine overshadowed terraces. Right in the heart of this beautiful wild landscape lies Cerca dos Pomares.