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Algarve Facts

Infante D. Henrique and Lagos


Henry the Navigator, the man behind the Portuguese Discoveries that changed both Portugal and the world.

The city of Lagos was the operational base for Portugal’s exploration of the African coast in the 15th century. It was here that Henry prepared the caravels for the Discoveries. Gil Eanes also departed from Lagos to round Cape Bojador, at a time when everyone believed that the cape marked the end of the world.

Throughout the town you will find street names alluding to the Discoveries. The historic buildings and monuments include Europe’s first slave market, at the Casa das Arcadas in Praça Infante D. Henrique, which is now a venue for the exhibition and sale of handicrafts.

Sagres Fortress, which was the site of Henry’s School of Seamanship, and a meeting place for astronomers, cartographers and seamen. It includes an impressive wind rose that is 43 metres in diameter.

About six kilometres further on is Cape St. Vincent, Europe’s most south-westerly point, where the ancients thought the world ended. The lighthouse lens weighs four tonnes, and is one of the six heaviest in the world.

If you want to know more about the Portuguese Discoveries, drop in and visit the exhibition at Ponta da Bandeira Fort in Lagos. The fort also provides a fine sea view.

Cape St. Vincent

Believed to be the End of the World, until the discovery and European colonisation of the Americas, this is where the cliffs of the most South-westerly point of Europe jut into the Atlantic Ocean.
From the Phoenicians rounding the cape to head north for the tin islands, to Sir Francis Drake, heading east to Cadiz, to modern-day yachtsmen, tankers and freighters, this was and still is an important navigational reference point.

Perched above the edge of the rolling waves is a lighthouse, whose beam can be seen up to 32 miles away at sea. This landmark is set within the remaining buildings of the 17th Century Franciscan Convent. Originally a hermitage founded in the 13th Century A.D., the convent was established in the 15th Century.

Many sea battles have been fought off Cape St. Vincent. Sir Francis Drake was very active here harrying the Spanish returning from the Caribbean laden with treasure: Portugal was under Spanish rule at the time. The French fleet defeated the British fleet here in 1693 and the British defeated the Spanish in 1790. The Battle of Cape St. Vincent took place on the 14th February 1797 between the Spanish fleet and the British fleet under the command of Sir John Jervis. During the battle, the commander of the ship "Captain", third from the end of the line, acted without orders to block the escape of the Spanish fleet. Sir John approved of the young commander of the "Captain" who had acted with such courage, initiative and good judgement. He was made a Knight of the Bath and promoted to the rank of rear-admiral shortly after the victory. His name - Horatio Nelson. Nelson passed Cabo de Sao Vicente many times during his naval career, the last time on his way to Cadiz and Trafalgar.

At first glance the landscape in this area looks rather bleak, arid and stony but closer examination, particularly in spring, will reveal a different story. There is a rich flora to be found here, including some unique species and some named after Cape St Vincent itself. Remarkably, these plants cling to survival in small crevices on the cliffs.

In spring and autumn, the headland offers an ideal point from which to see the migration of huge numbers of birds flying north to the breeding grounds of north west Europe in Spring and south to their winter haunts in the autumn. The gannet is one of the most recognisable seabirds which may be seen passing over. Most of the world's gannets breed around the British Isles, for instance on St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides and most of the adult, young and juvenile birds over winter in the Mediterranean or Atlantic waters off the coast of the Algarve - only some of the juveniles try the fishing areas as far away as West Africa.

The Cape takes it's name from a Spanish priest, martyred at the beginning of the 4th century. According to legend, his remains were buried at the Cape and a temple erected which was watched over by ravens. During the reign of Afonso Henriques (1139-1185), Vincent's remains were exhumed and taken by ship for re-burial in Lisbon to protect them from desecration. The legend tells that a raven kept vigil from the rigging throughout the entire voyage. The raven remains part of the insignia of both the city of Lisbon and Cape St. Vincent's local seat of administration at Vila do Bispo.