Driving Directions Portugal
PORTUGAL, in the southwest corner of Europe, makes up about 15 percent of the Iberian Peninsula. It includes the island groups of Madeira and the Azores in the Atlantic.
Lying to the west of Spain, mainland Portugal has a long Atlantic coastline and is mountainous only in the north, where the mountain ranges are lower extensions of those in Spain. The highest peaks occur north of the River Tejo (Tajo in Spain) in the Sierra da Estrela, reaching a height of 2,000 meters or 6,562 feet. South of the Tejo river lies the wheat fields and cork plantations of the Alentejo region’s extensive plains.
A range breaks these hills that divide them from the coastal plain of the Algarve, with its beautiful groves of almond, fig, and olive trees.