Portugal's Alqueva Dam

Chris really wanted to see the Alqueva dam and drive around the lake - the largest artificial lake in Europe. We live on a manmade lake with a dam in Ontario, so we could relate to it.

But we didn’t expect to see such a vast volume of water with small islands reaching as far as the eye can see, surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape. Our first view of the lake was through a heavy mist when we were at the top of Monsaraz castle and it was a ‘wow’ moment. We then drove around the lake admiring the countryside around it.

People here seem to be truly proud of Alqueva’s tranquility, colour and, most of all, its beauty and life. Almost every person we have met have talked about it and now we know why.

“Alqueva” is a word derived from “alqueive”, “fallow lands” or “deserted”, of dry soils eager for water. Well now, there seems to be plenty of it.

The dam is located on the Guadiana River, one of the longest in the Iberian Peninsula, in Alentejo Portugal. It is actually near a small village with the name… Alqueva. You can take a boat on this river from this point until Mertola, which is around 68 km away (42 mi).

The Alqueva Dam was built to provide the area with electrical power but the main reason it was built was to provide a water source for an irrigation system in the whole Alentejo region. This would be a way to develop agriculture and also face the problem of land abandonment.

But other activities came when the water came and many new jobs were created, many of them in the tourism industry.

P.S. Look at the photo of the sign written in English at the top of the dam!Read more