"Algarve - The West" a Algarve Travel Page by Gerrem

The Algarve coast line stretches about 100 miles from the western-most tip to the Spanish border.
The western ends juts out into the Atlantic, a rugged, undeveloped area, which has retained its natural charm - traditional arts and crafts, which have all but disappeared from the eastern coast - form part of the way of life here.

The western coastline is extremely dramatic, with cliffs of black rock from which Algarvian fishermen cling precariously hundreds of feet above the sea, for hours on end. Beaches vary from tiny, intimate coves to long lengths of open soft sand, where the Atlantic waves crash and retreat.

The name Algarve comes from the Arabic al-gbarb ("the west"), referring to the province's position at the western edge of the former Muslim empire and, as well, at the western edge of al-Andalus, of which the Algarve was part until it became a separate Arab governorate in 1140.