Ria Formosa Natural ReserveGet back to nature on your Algarve holiday and explore the Ria Formosa Natural Reserve. It is a nature park which stretches along most of the Eastern Algarve coastline. It is basically a collection of marshes, salt pans and lagoons forming a barrier from the sea to the land.
In addition to bird watching, it is also a fantastic place to see all types of wildlife, flora and fauna and if you like walking, there are trails to take, so you can enjoy nature at its best. If you want to enjoy all this at higher speeds then there are bikes for hire or perhaps you’d prefer the view from the back of a horse. You could also book a boat trip and enjoy it from the water. Where is the Ria Formosa Natural Reserve?The Ria Formosa Natural Park is large, and while quite narrow is very long. It starts at Ancao beach, which is near near Quinta do Lago and forms the Eastern Algarve coastline for about 60 km, finishing a few kilometres short of the Spanish border at the small resort of Manta Rota.This nature reserve or natural park was established by the Portuguese Government in 1987 to protect the area and its natural habitat for wildlife. The park is a barrier between the Atlantic and the mainland and is further protected by several islands, which are basically large sand dunes. These islands are Faro, Barreta, Culatra, Armona and Tavira. These provide some great beaches to visit, and they tend to be quieter than the beaches you’ll find in the resorts of the western Algarve. This because they are in the less touristy Eastern Algarve and because they are harder to access because of their location beyond the lagoons and marshes. In between these islands and the mainland are large areas of dunes and lagoons, small sand isles, mud flats and canals. This provides a wonderful habitat for wildlife, flora and fauna, sealife and birds You'll also find shellfish farming here, which I'm told provides for
around 80% of Portuguese Clam exports. Where to stay to enjoy itIf you fancy staying on the edge of the Ria Formosa Natural Reserve, then you could do worse than the 5-star Quinta do Lago Hotel located in the Quinta do Lago resortIf you want to find out more about about room rates or availability at the Quinta do Lago Hotel, then just click on one of the following companies who deal with this hotel:
Ria Formosa Bird watchingIf bird watching is your thing, you'll want to spend some time enjoying the birds which the area attracts. There are observation hides in Quinta do Lago. The park is a wintering ground for birds from northern and central Europe and provides a stop-over for migrating birds to Africa. A quick search in Google will provide you with far more information about the birds you'll find here, than I can do justice to here.Ria Formosa Natural Reserve TrailsThere are a couple of nature trails, Sao Lourenco and Quinta do Lago, if you like to wander around and enjoy wildlife at close quarters. To help you along there are several illustrated information boards in English as well as Portuguese.Quinta do Lago Nature TrailThe Quinta do Lago nature trail round trip takes about 40 minutes This trail is a little more than 2km over long taking in pine woods and salt marshland.Sao Lourenco Nature TrailThe Sao Lourenco nature trail is longer than the Quinta do Lago trail at over 3km. It'll take an hour or so, depending on how long you linger at the various stopping points along the way. This trail takes you through salt marshes as well and also the freshwater lagoons.If you don’t want to don your stout walking boots and explore yourself, then a more holiday-friendly option
to discover some of what the Ria Formosa Natural Reserve has to offer, is visit to the Nature Centre at Quinta de Marim, near Olhao, where there are a number of attractions and sights to see. These include:
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