Estômbar

Above the valley of the Arade, where springs rise from the limestone and the river slows towards the sea, Estômbar is one of the oldest parishes of the Algarve — a country town of whitewashed lanes and orange groves that once stood at the centre of the river’s trade.

Castles of the reconquest

In the Arab period the place was known as Sanabus, an important settlement under the castle of Abenabeci, and its capture by the troops of Sancho I at the end of the twelfth century opened the way to the conquest of Silves. The matrix church of São Tiago, classified among the region’s heritage, rose above the medieval parish, and the poet Abenamar is remembered among the town’s Arab-period figures.

Springs by the Arade

Two kilometres below the town, the municipal park of the Sítio das Fontes spreads along the Arade: nearly twenty hectares of springs, orchards and riverside walks around the pools where the river gathers, with picnic grounds under carob and fig trees. The river here once carried the salt and fish that made the parish’s fortune, and today its banks draw walkers and swimmers in summer. The fishing village of Ferragudo stands downstream, and the red walls of Silves castle rise upriver.

What to see

• The matrix church of São Tiago in the old centre
• The springs and walks of the Sítio das Fontes
• The valley of the Arade above the estuary
• The lanes and chapels of the village
• The road down to the river mouth

Practical information

Estômbar lies in the Lagoa municipality, in the Algarve, on the inland road between Silves and the coast, with its own railway halt. Summer afternoons are hot on the river paths: bring water and a hat, and check the official websites before setting out.

Image credit: Estômbar e Parchal – Church of Saint James the Great by Joachim Schulz Emsland — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.