Serra de Monchique

The Serra de Monchique, a Natura 2000 Site of Conservation Interest, is made up of schist and grauvaque terrain, flattened at altitudes of between 300 and 400 metres, and the syenitic Monchique massif, which reaches 902 metres, making it the highest point in the Algarve.

Given the particular geomorphological characteristics of this region and the rich presence of water, the vegetation is dense and rich, with abundant riparian galleries of willows, ash and alder trees, oak forests, where the rare Monchique Oak still occurs.

Monchique is also home to the Adelfeira or Rhododendron, an Iberian endemic, a relic of the laurel forest of the last great glacial period, and several species of endangered fauna, such as the Bonelli's Eagle or the Water Lizard.