The Southern Alentejo extends from its wild Atlantic coast in the west to the Spanish boarder in the east. The Algarve is to the south and it's divided from the the Central Alentejo to the north by the Serra de Vidigueira hills. The Lisbon Coast and the Setúbal Peninsular lie to the north west. Beja, with its castle and convent, has been the capital of the Southern Alentejo since Roman times.

Much of the Southern Alentejo consists of rolling wheat fields interspersed with olive groves and cork oak trees. Three rivers of note cut through the dusty undulating terrain, the Sado, which rises in the Serra de Monchique in the Algarve and flows northwards to Setúbal; the Mira with its mouth at Vila Nova de Milfontes and the Guadiana, flowing due south from Spain to the Algarve.

Agriculture has traditionally been the main occupation in the Southern Alentejo and many or the old farms or 'Montes' date back to Roman times. Slowly, however, tourists are beginning to discover the region. There's the Guadiana Valley Nature Park with its wonderful scenery along the banks of the river as it winds its way south to the Algarve past the medieval castles at Serpa and Mértola.

Moving west through the Campo Branco region, the vast plains around Castro Verde are famous for cranes and other rare birds. In the spring the dusty plains come alive with carpets of wild flowers. And finally to an area of outstanding natural beauty with deserted beaches tucked between rocky headlands in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Nature Park on the west coast.