Benagil is a small

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

village on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast in the municipality of

Lagoa, Algarve Lagoa () is a city and municipality in the district of Faro, in the Portuguese region of Algarve. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 22,975, in an area of 88.25 km². Its urban population, in the city of Lagoa proper, is 6,100 in ...

, in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Up to the late 20th century, the village's economy was based on ocean fishing. Now it is a tourist area with a widely used beach: ''Praia de Benagil''. It's a place where there are few inhabitants but in the summer many people come from abroad. The population contains at least 60 people but this source is just an average. Benagil village and beach are located close to the internationally famous Marinha Beach. The beach is not the main tourist attraction in Benagil. That honour is reserved for the Benagil Cave, also known as Algar de Benagil. Out of all sea caves that dot the Algarve coastline between Lagos and Albufeira, the Benagil Cave is the only one that has been eroded both from the side and from the top. This unique natural process has resulted in an opening in the ceiling that allows the sunlight to brighten up the grotto and the beach that it hides. Algar de Benagil can only be accessed from the water and small tour boats tend to queue at the entrance to pass through this unique sea cave. Passengers are not allowed to disembark. Only visitors who arrive by kayak or SUP are allowed to set foot on the patch of sand inside the cave. Benagil caves are the most popular of all the maritime caves in Portugal. Benagil Cave seen by above

References

Seaside resorts in Portugal {{Faro-geo-stub

See also

References