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One of the most popular resort towns in southern Portugal, Lagos immediately captures the imagination with its carefree holiday spirit, laid-back lifestyle and immense historical wealth. Its greatest treasure is the Igreja de Santo António. The nearby beaches are equally attractive with their fine golden sand, ochre-splashed cliffs and bizarre outcrops of sandstone pillars. See Lagos.

Monchique, a rustic little market town, is tucked away in the forested Serra de Monchique under a mantle of towering eucalyptus and broad magnolia. Nestling in its shadow is Caldas de Monchique, a charming leafy hamlet glowing in the fame of its renowned spa facility where the sparkling mineral water is endowed with some remarkable curative properties. The Serra’s unique Mediterranean-Atlantic habitat is a haven for wildlife. Sweeping views from Fóia and Picota crown this hugely diverse and fertile area. See Monchique.

Sagres’s claim to fame is the huge landmark fort spread across the arm of the precipitous Ponta de Sagres. It’s here that Henry the Navigator’s original fortress and the Vila do Infante – his legendary school of navigation – is said to have been located. Little remains of either except for the giant pebble Rosa dos Ventos (wind compass) and the plain little chapel of Nossa Senhora da Graça, both supposedly used by Henry in the 15th century. Sagres itself is a modest town bestowed with a pretty harbour and some magnificent beaches that attract surfers from around the globe. See Sagres.

An austere landscape, dramatic limestone cliffs and a restless, unforgiving sea led Greek chroniclers to describe this windblown cape as the end of the earth. The Romans revered the rocky out-crop and called it Promontorium Sacrum, a place where the setting sun hissed in its dying embers as the ocean swallowed it up. The promontory retains an air of mystique. The cape’s lighthouse is an important navigation reference point and looms over a former convent building. Henry the Navigator is said to have had a house in the small castle to the right of the tower.

The entire coastline of western Algarve lies within the boundaries of this wild and rocky nature reserve. Dozens of scarce and endemic plant species thrive here, and the highly secretive Iberian lynx stalks the land. Hundreds of different species of birdlife flutter and glide above the salt marshes, while, not surprisingly, ornithologists gather with binoculars primed.

The humble ruins of a 10th-century Moorish castle stand sentinel-like over a higgledy-piggeldy collection of whitewashed houses and café-restaurants that constitute the village of Aljezur. A steep, cobbled path leads up to the timeworn but sturdy castle walls and the splendid view beyond. This riverine area was once a breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and in the 18th century some of the villagers were persuaded to relocate to Igreja Nova, Aljezur’s “modern” counterpart to the east.

The landscape around Vila do Bispo is rich with evidence of the Algarve’s prehistoric past. Mysteriousmenhirs , also known as megaliths, dot the countryside. Near Monte dos Amantes, a number of these stones, some bearing crudely carved crosses, appear to form a circle. Archaeologists speculate this could be the site of the mythical Church of the Raven, supposedly where the remains of St Vincent were interred before being taken to Lisbon.

Vila do Bispo

Considered to be one of the oldest examples of Gothic architecture in the Algarve, the unassuming 14th-century chapel near the town is of great significance. Henry the Navigator was said to have prayed here when he lived in the nearby town of Raposeira, as did many a crew before departing for unknown lands. Inside the chapel, built in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe, enigmatic stone heads peer down from the ceiling.

The huge, man-made lake 10 km (6 miles) north of Lagos is a wonderful place to unpack the picnic hamper. In spring, fields of orchids nestle under delicate umbrellas of almond blossom, with butterflies flitting from bloom to bloom. Towering eucalyptus encroach upon the lakeside, and the woods are a favourite haunt of red foxes and wild boar. The higher ground north of the dam is generously wooded with cork oak, and it’s from this area that the best views of the lake can be enjoyed.

The River Seixe meanders past this pretty little village, which makes a handy base for surfers keen to ride the big swells that thunder onto Odeceixe beach. A lone windmill sitting above the village used to take advantage of the fresh winds whipped up by the Atlantic; today it’s a popular spot for scanning the Alentejo countryside. There’s also a curious little museum in the village centre, which recreates the atmosphere of a traditional winery and cellar. This sleepy backwater is about as far as you can get from the summer throngs that pack the coastal resorts.