untitled

Praia da Senhora da Rocha or Praia [da] Nossa Senhora da Rocha (Beach of [Our] Lady of the Rock) is a small fishing community and beach on the Atlantic coast of the civil parish/freguesia of Porches in the municipality/concelho of Lagoa (Algarve) in Portugal. The beach is one of the most rustic ones along the coast and was used as a refuge for small fishing boats in the area.

Map coordinates: 38°05′45″N 8°23′10″W / 38.09583°N 8.38611°W / 38.09583; -8.38611

The beach is flanked by cliffs. At the west end is a promentory on which is the old Fort and Shrine of Nossa Senhora da Rocha. A tunnel has been excavated through this promentory to link Praia da Senhora da Rocha with Praia Nova on the other side.

The fact that the beach/Praia da Senhora da Rocha is protected by cliffs is not only a great advantage for the fishermen, it also offers shelter to tourists when the wind is very strong.

Lagoa Municipality (Portuguese pronunciation: [lɐˈɣoɐ]) is a Portuguese municipality in Faro District, in the region known as the Algarve. Its seat is the city of Lagoa, with about 6,100 inhabitants.

The municipality has 88.50 km² in area, with 23,835 inhabitants, divided into 6 civil parishes (freguesias). It is bounded on the north and east by Silves Municipality, on the west by Portimão Municipality, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean.

The city (then town) was officially incorporated on 16 January 1773. The municipal holiday is September 8; its patron saint is Our Lady of Light. The location adjective for the city is Lagoense.

The present Mayor is José Inácio Marques Eduardo, elected by the Social Democratic Party.

Porches is a civil parish/freguesia in the municipality/concelho of Lagoa (Algarve) in Portugal, about 10 km east of the city of Lagoa. It is 15.57 km² in area, with 1,901 inhabitants (2001); its population density is 122.1 persons/km². It was elevated to the status of a town on July 12, 2001.

Faro District (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfaɾu], Portuguese: Distrito de Faro) is the southernmost district of Portugal, coincident with the Algarve. The administrative centre, or capital, is the city of Faro.

The district is composed of 16 municipalities:

Portugal ⁱ/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.