Monuments showing the origins of the Algarve

The wealth of prehistoric evidence, dotted across the Algarve, is worthy of attention because it presents an important lesson on ancestral cultures which lived in the region in the distant past.

North-eastern Algarve is rich in archaeological finds, which include the Curral do Castelhana Dolmen and the Lavajo Menhir.  In the Santa Justa Castle, there are also some traces of a fortified settlement from the Chalcolithic period.

The most important Neolithic funeral monuments found in the Tavira region are the Dolmen of Pedras Altas in Monte da Mealha and the Dolmen of Masmorra in the Monte das Alcarias de Pedro Guerreiro near the town of Cachopo.

The Alcalar prehistoric remains in Portimão are worth a special visit.  The Alcalar Interpretive Centre helps uncover the daily life of these inhabitants of ancient Algarve, who practised different activities such as agriculture, sheep grazing, hunting, fishing, milling, weaving, pottery and copper metallurgy.

Other examples of ‘must-see’ prehistoric remains include the Aspradantes Menhir in Vila do Bispo, the Gregórios Menhir in Silves, and the Pedra do Alagar Dolmen in the parish of Ameixial in Loulé.