Praia da Fuseta-Ria

Moncarapacho

Moncarapacho sits in the Barrocal, the limestone country between the coast and the hills, a few kilometres inland from Olhão and Fuseta. Above it rises the Cerro de São Miguel, at 411 metres the highest point in this corner of the Algarve, with a summit view that takes in the whole sweep of the Ria Formosa. The town itself is a working agricultural centre that tourism has largely passed by: citrus, carob, olives and figs are still farmed around it, and the centre keeps its parish church, the small chapel of Santo Cristo and a web of whitewashed lanes and café squares. A traditional market is held on the first Sunday of each month, drawing people in from the surrounding countryside. The coast is close when you want it: Fuseta's lagoon-side village and island beach are ten minutes south, Olhão's fish market fifteen. Moncarapacho has quietly become a favourite with foreign residents who want inland peace within reach of the sea, without the polish or prices of the central Algarve. It suits exactly that: slow, rural, genuinely Portuguese, with oranges on the trees and the Ria Formosa on the horizon.