Portugal’s Algarve region on the southern coast, with many great beaches, is a very popular tourist destination.    The Algarve is hilly, but traversed with rich valleys. Its highest point is Fóia, 902 metres (2,959 ft), in the mountain range of Monchique. It is composed of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants. This figure increases to over a million people at the height of summer due to an influx of tourists. The Algarve has several cities, towns and villages. It also includes some islands and islets. The region is also the home of the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nature reserve of over 170 square kilometres and a stopping place for hundreds of different birds.