Bensafrim is the largest parish in the municipality of Lagos, located in the beautiful Barlavento Algarvio (western Algave). The main town Bensafrim, with aprox. 1.530 inhabitants over 78,35 Km2 (Low Density area), is characterised by its houses with coloured bar around windows and doors, topped by the typical laced chimney of the Algarve, inherited from a past of strong Muslim occupation.
Located in the extreme northeast, being irrigated by the Bensafrim river, it is bounded to the north by the towns of Bordeira and Aljezur (Council of Aljezur) and Marmelete (Council of Monchique), to the east by the town of Mexilhoeira Grande (Council of Portimão) and the town of Odiáxere, to the south, by the town of São Sebastião and to the West, by the town of Barão de São João.
In fact, this territory has human occupation since very remote times, as can be seen in the various archaeological remains of the region, such as the Menir da Cabeça do Rochedo or an Iron Age necropolis with various elements also of Roman occupation.
The parish has been able to maintain its rurality, producing traditional Algarvian products such as honey, figs, almonds, cattle, charcoal and its derivatives, surviving as it can to the urban and tourist development of the Algarve region in the last decades.
Bensafrim prides itself on its Mother Church and the various heritage legacies of a whole rural history, such as waterwheels, wells, agricultural instruments, among many others.
