Alqueva
Lake
The landscape around the Alqueva Lake is charming and unique.
Discover the lakeside villages and all they have to offer.
Culture and local cuisine are just some of the reasons why you should visit the lakeside villages of the Alqueva Lake.
One of the strategic aims of the Government is to enhance the tourist potential of the “Lands of the Great Alqueva Lake”.
The dam embraces the valleys of the Guadiana and Degebe rivers, as well as the Alcarrache, Zebro and Lucefecit streams. It offers real potential for tourist development due to its proximity to the villages and towns of Alentejo. These communities stand to benefit greatly from the combination of their own activities with those generated by the increase in tourism, leisure and recreational opportunities provided by the Alqueva waters and its margins.
area
approximately
250 km2
perimeter
approximately
1160 km
length
approximately
83 km
waterways
more than
150 km
The development of an alternative brand of tourism is a large scale activity that aims to innovate the tourist and leisure business in the world.
Mass tourism is giving way to new products, spaces, equipment and services, marketing mechanisms and tourist promotion models. These offer an introduction to new environments and structures in which tourists find a warm and original welcome as they make contact with local people and their values and cultural heritage.
Cheles village
1220
N 38º 30’ 44’’ W 7º 16’ 49’’ (dock)
The original settlement is probably from the Neolithic period, or even before that, as shown by the numerous petroglyphs found in the Guadiana streams near Fazenda Galacho, and the Roman and Visigoth remains from its past buried in San Golofredo (the old village settlement), which were submerged by the opening of the Alqueva Dam floodgates.
Its reconquest began when Cória was taken over in 1142 by King Afonso VII of Castille. However, it was only with the victory of King Afonso VIII over the Almohad Caliphate in Navas de Tolosa, in 1212, that the Castilians-Leonese moved southwest. While King Afonso IX conquered the westernmost area closest to the border, the Knights Templar led the reconquest in the western area bordering Portugal. Cheles was reconquered in 1231 during the reign of King Fernando III of Léon and Castille.
5 Canoeing tours, paddle, surf and windsurf
Dock - Cheles
(00 34) 669 038 884
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17 Rural House “La Fontana”
Finca La Fontana
(0034) 691 349 196 / (00 34) 618 950 011
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18 Rural House “Sierra de San Blas”
Sierra San Blas
(00 34) 605 812 644 / (00 34) 637 160 973
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22 Pharmacy “Mari Carmen Ruiz Millán”
Calle Virgen de Guadalupe, 9
(00 34) 924 423 008
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26 Church of Nª Srª de la Purísima Concepción
Calle Atrio la Iglesia
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Saturday: 20h / Sunday: 11h30
