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A world away from the villas and beaches of the Algarve coast. The faded, timeworn charm is mirrored by some lovely 19th-century buildings. The half dozen friendly café-restaurants dotted around the vicinity make for welcome refreshment.

A quaint hamlet slumbering in isolated beauty and crowned by the simple Igreja Nossa Senhora da Assunção.

Poet João de Deus (1830–96) is synonymous with this quiet rural town. The church has some amazing twisted sandstone pillars – unique in the Algarve.

This remote village is the site of a copper-goldmine worked by a Muslim labour force some 900 years ago, now an imaginative theme park.

Typical of the villages that pepper this rugged region. Nearby Miradoura de Caldeirão is an inspiring place for a picnic, and to the south are the last remaining examples of round dwellings.

The village is mainly famous for its traditional red clay bricks and roof tiles. Some of the local olive trees are believed to be more than 1,000 years old.

Rarely visited, and best in mid-summer when the area is awash with bright pink oleander, the village is known for its hand-made bamboo baskets and rustic chairs. Nearby are the ruins of a fort and two mills.

Picturesque beach wedged between steep-sided cliffs and framed by rows of holiday apartments and some excellent restaurants. A popular summer haunt for families and, during the winter months, golfers.

Known for its gruesome bone chapel, with the skeletal remains of 1,500 former parishioners completely covering the ceilings and walls.

The Alcalar burial chambers are a series of Neolithic dolmen passage tombs. The drive here is a delight in itself, among ancient oak and olive trees.