Monchique ( Portuguese pronunciation: [mõˈʃikɨ] ) is a municipality of southern Portugal , in Faro District (province of Algarve). The population in 2011 was 6,045, in an area of 395.30 km.
6-595: The Municipality of Monchique is situated in the Serra de Monchique and together with the town of Monchique is a tourist destination. Attractions include a historic town centre, views from the two peaks of Foia and Picota, hiking, bird watching and biking. There are hot sulfur springs, with baths and health spas 6 kilometres (4 mi) south in 'Caldas de Monchique' (Spring of Monchique). Eucalyptus, cork oak, oranges, lemons, honey, olive oil, chestnuts, scissor chairs made from chestnut wood, black pork and black pork ham and sausages are
12-524: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Medronho The Aguardente de Medronhos is a strong spirit, a traditional fruit brandy from Portugal , obtained from arbutus berries - the fruit of the Medronho tree, Arbutus unedo - also called strawberry tree. The Arbutus unedo grow wild on the poor soils in rural regions of Portugal such as Lousã and the inner Algarve (in such places like Marmelete and São Marcos da Serra ). There
18-410: The authorities to keep this traditional Portuguese specialty alive. A commercial derivative, sweetened with honey and flavoured with herbs, is sold under the brand names Brandymel and Dom Cristina. Aguardente de Medronhos is also known as 'firewater' to non-Portuguese speakers. It is a rough translation from água ardente , which is Portuguese for burning water . The spirit obtains this name from
24-447: The chief products. There are several small industries producing tourist artifacts that are sold in local shops, and medronho , a local brew made from distilled medronho berries (Arbutus/ Strawberry Tree ), is produced. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 3 civil parishes ( freguesias ): Monchique has a Mediterranean climate with warm to hot summers and mild, wet winters. Due to its altitude and location, right between
30-673: The valley formed by the Serra de Monchique , precipitation in the winter is much larger than anywhere else on the Algarve . Its position on the southwest corner of Portugal gives it very mild temperatures in the winter, especially for its altitude. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Monchique ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 693. [REDACTED] This Faro location article
36-399: Was no large-scale commercial plantation of Arbutus unedo until the 21st century and in the past the arbutus berries were mainly collected by local farmers, by hand and processed privately. Therefore, good Aguardente de Medronhos was not easily found in supermarkets but instead bought mostly directly from these farmers. Very few farmers had a license for distillation, but they were tolerated by
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