Alcantarilha guide
We haven’t looked at some Algarve destinations in a while so today we’ll offer a short Alcantarilha guide in our series of general guide articles.
This used to be a small village but it has grown quite a bit during the past ten years thanks to EN125 running through it. In the old part of the village very little has changed, it still features the very particular narrow lanes and a main street that runs the length of the village, growing narrower near the rather impressive church where it’s only a car’s width.
The church has a small bone chapel attached to one of its sides, which is open every day and the name comes from the fact that actual human skulls and bones cover the walls and the ceiling. The place is large enough so that two or three people can actually stand and gaze at this rather peculiar habit of regional monks to use their bones to basically decorate chapels.
Simply walking around the village is a great idea for a pass-time because you will come across an early dwelling that dates back to the 17th century and in addition if you go around the rear of this property and down the alley, you’ll reach the high street where you’ll see an old garden wall with slits in it meant to fire upon intruders from.
The village has quite a few interesting activities that it organizes all throughout the year, for instance there’s a major monthly market near the fire station and a monthly flea market in the same place. There are also annual events such as a rather popular dried fruit festival which has live music and entertainment in the evening. You can also find an old ‘nora’, a very early well that was donkey-driven in order to draw up water for drinking and washing.
The village has spawned a great deal of restaurants that are well worth a visit as well as a small museum dedicated to different farm implements and other early household items used in the past.
Keep in mind some Algarve car rental services if you plan to visit Alcantarilha.
