Lake Alqueva

Damming the Guadiana in the early 2000s turned a stretch of dry Alentejo into one of Europe's largest artificial lakes, with a shoreline that wanders around low hills and drowned valleys. The water changed the region: there are marinas now, houseboats for hire at Amieira, guarded swimming spots on the shore, and vineyards that survive the summer. Above it all sits Monsaraz, a walled hilltop village of whitewashed houses and a castle looking straight down onto the reservoir. The other draw arrives after dark. Few people, dry air and organised lighting controls have made this one of the more reliable places in Europe to see the Milky Way from the side of a road.

History

A study of the dam was ordered in the 1950s, an early attempt was abandoned in 1978, and the decision to build it was taken in the 1990s; the village of Aldeia da Luz, in the flood zone, was rebuilt on a new site. The floodgates of the 96-metre dam closed on 8 February 2002, and by January 2010 the lake had filled to its planned level, covering 250 km² with a shoreline of nearly 1200 kilometres (Wikipedia, Alqueva Dam).

Highlights

• Monsaraz - a walled hilltop village above the water, best at sunset.
• The night sky - stargazing sessions and small observatories around the lake.
• The houseboats - self-drive boats hired from the Amieira marina.
• The lake beaches - guarded swimming spots on the reservoir shore.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the workable seasons: the Alentejo interior regularly passes forty degrees in July and August, with almost no shade anywhere. Stargazers plan around new moon, and clear skies are common from late spring. Book night sessions ahead, since groups are kept small. Water levels drop through summer and expose muddy margins.

What to expect

The heat is the honest obstacle, and it makes daytime driving between villages hard work. Distances are long, public transport is thin and many roads are single track. The reservoir itself is handsome rather than dramatic, with low banks and few trees. Stargazing depends entirely on cloud, and a booked session can turn into a wasted evening.

Nearby

Evora, the megalithic stone circles near Guadalupe and the Alqueva dam wall.