Praia da Arrifana is a beach within the Municipality of Aljezur, in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

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 ...

."Spain & Portugal 2012, Tourist and Motoring Atlas. Pub:Michelin, 2011, The beach is on the western

Seaboard Seaboard is a synonym for coastline. It can also refer to: * Seaboard, North Carolina, a small town in the United States * Seaboard, Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in the United States * Seaboard Corporation, an international a ...

in the north west of the Algarve. The beach is south south west of the village of Aljezur, and is north west, by road, from the regions capital of Faro. The beach of ''Praia da Arrifana'' is inside the Vicentine Coast Natural Park,Tours around the Algarve. Published: Algarve Tourism Board/ Rotas © Região de Turismo do Algarve. an area of outstanding natural beauty. ''Praia da Arrifana '' has been designated a blue FlagBlue Flag beaches in the Algarve
beach (2012).

Description

The sand on ''Praia da Arrifana'' is of pale golden fine sand and is approximately 500 meters long. The beach is backed by tall cliffs which afford the beach some protection from the ravages of the

Atlantic Ocean 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 ...

. Even so, this is a very popular beach for surfingSurf Forecast for Praia da Arrifana
/ref> and body surfing. The beach is accessed by a

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

steps, down to the beach from the village. At the bottom of the village, there is a concrete slope which provides easy access for wheelchair users and for boats etc. On the northwest side of the bay, there is the small fishing village of Arrifana and its small fishing harbour.

Castle Arrifana ruins

On the northern headland above the beach are the ruins of Castle Arrifan
(Information Leaflet)
The 12th-century ruins are thought to once have been the residence of Abu-l-Qasim Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Qasi who was a prince of the first independent

Kingdom of Algarve The Kingdom of the Algarve (Portuguese: ''Reino do Algarve'', from the Arabic ''Gharb al-Andalus'' ), after 1471 Kingdom of the Algarves (Portuguese: ''Reino dos Algarves''), was a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal, located in the sou ...

. The prince came to this fortification away from the then capital of

Silves Silves may refer to : Europe * Silves, Portugal, municipality and former bishopric in Algarve, southern Portugal ** Silves (parish), a civil parish in the municipality of Silves ** Castle of Silves, a medieval castle in civil parish of Silves ...

to devote himself to writing, thought and

contemplation In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...

. Recent archaeological researchSIPA website
/ref> has discovered the ruins of several buildings on this site in two areas. The buildings discovered include three mosques, with their

Qibla The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...

and

Mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

. In the first area, there are the remains of a mosque with another adjoining mosque. In the second area are further structures of unknown use.

Facilities

During the summer season, the beach is patrolled by

lifeguards A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...

. There are toilets and showers close to the car park. There is also a public telephone. In the village Arrifana there are several restaurants and bars, such as ''Restaurante Oceano'', ''O Paulo'', ''Brisamar'', ''Restaurant Praia Arrifana'' ''Restaurant Fortaleza''.

Getting there

From the town of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

take the RN 120 road north towards

Sines Sines () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The municipality, divided into two parishes, has around 14,214 inhabitants (2021) in an area of . Sines holds an important oil refinery and several petrochemical industries. It is also a popular ...

, Just before the village of ''Aljezur'' turn left, signposted to ''Vale da Telha'', ''Praia do monte Clérigo'' and a brown sign posted to ''Praia da Arrifana''. At the top of the hill turn left and follow the road round to the ''Praia da Arrifana''.

Gallery

File:Ribat arrifana.jpg, Castle Arrifana File:Map Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina.gif, Map of the Vicentine Coast Natural Park

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrifana Beaches of Aljezur Blue Flag beaches of Portugal