Alte
- Written by Come to Portugal
Alte comes under the district parish of Loulé, and is famous with the Portuguese for its natural spring waters that run 365 days a year. The village is set inland in a basin surrounded by hills.
Entering the village from the west along the main N124 road, there is a large car park from which you can carry by foot on uphill into the village. The main road more or less circles the small, popular village.
Shortly into the village, you find the imposing main church perched high on the steep cobbled incline looking over the village. A plaque near the impressive doorway relates the church's history.
From the centre and down some steep roads, is a bridge the width of but one car and crosses the river. This is a popular spot as the river has wild ducks and geese that prove popular with both locals and tourists. There is a area that has fresh running spring water coming out of two clay pipes, where local people fill bottles of water. A sign warns that the water is not tested and is not for drinking but this sadly is all part of the health and safety laws that have hit Europe; the sign is too cover such laws.
You will see a brown sign for the fontes,for which the village is famous. It is well worth the walk although in the summer months it gets busy with families who picnic and swim in the crystal clear waters. But with the friendly atmosphere that is felt, you can sit and just enjoy the fun being had.
The village has plenty to offer with bars, cafés, restaurants, a number of shops and even a supermarket that sadly has a large sign to indicate its position in bright colours which seems to spoil what was a village that had stood the test of tradition and time. The village sees safari jeeps filled with tourists looking for the real Algarve, yet to just drive through the village is a shame, as it has so much to offer with hidden back streets highlighted with colour from bougainvilleas. The village holds a very good Carnival in February.
