Portuguese Algarve Alcoutim, virtually untouched for centuries, is a picturesque cul-de-sac town on the banks of the Guadiana river, 40 km north of where the river enters the sea at Vila Real de Santo Ant�io. At both Alcoutim and the adjacent Spanish village of San Lucar de Guadiana there are castle ruins hauntingly recalling centuries of fearful vigilance across the border. The fear and loathing has long gone, leaving behind a rich history and natural beauty to discover!

All that separates the two communities now is a narrow stretch of placid, slow-moving water. This small border fortress guards the western frontier. The impressive hill-top castle, high on the eastern bank of the Guadiana watches over everything that moves on the river and anything that dares stir on the approaching roads for miles around.The town has been settled since the pre-Roman period and during the Muslim occupation, the town defended the passage of copper, mined in the area and transported on the Guadiana.

The castle is of great historical significance, for it was here that the treaty between the Kingdoms of Portugal and Castille was signed in the middle ages.

Today the years of Spanish-Portuguese rivalry are long gone and the border fortress of Sanlcar de Guadiana on the opposite bank of the river, exchanges visitors with Alcoutim via a regular small-boat ferry service.