Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve, Natural reserve with salt pans along Tagus River in Setúbal, Portugal.
The Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve is a protected wetland area along the river near Setúbal, featuring mudflats, salt marshes, and shallow waterways. Salt ponds and agricultural fields intersperse throughout, creating a mosaic landscape where water and land constantly shift.
The government designated this area as a protected reserve in 1976 to safeguard Portugal's largest wetland system. This action recognized the region's importance for wildlife migration and the health of river ecosystems.
Salt production in the ponds relies on methods that families have practiced for centuries, shaping how the land is organized and used. Visitors can observe how this work connects people directly to the rhythm of the seasons and the water cycle.
The best time to visit is during migration seasons when bird populations peak, though the area remains active year-round. Walking trails and viewing platforms are marked and easily accessible, making navigation straightforward for most visitors.
Winter months bring around 120,000 water birds to this location, including a large portion of Europe's pied avocet population that stops here during migration. This concentration makes the reserve one of the continent's most important sites for bird watching.
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This collection brings together about forty sites that show the different sides of Lisbon and the Tago Valley. In the city, you walk through the streets of Alfama, see 16th-century buildings such as the Belém Tower and the Hieronymites Monastery, cross the Commerce Square that opens to the river,...
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9.9 km
Alverca do Ribatejo
8.2 km
OGMA - Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal
6.1 km
Mar da Palha
7.3 km
Castelo de Pirescoxe
8.4 km
Fort of Sacavém
10.6 km
Fort of Casa
6.4 km
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9.5 km
Igreja de Alcochete
10.1 km
Fort of Arpim
10.8 km
Hermitage of Nossa Senhora de Alcamé
7.4 km
Casa do Dr. Sousa Martins
9.3 km
Quinta de Nossa Senhora da Piedade
7 km
Paços do Concelho de Alcochete
10.1 km
Monumento a Hércules
9.4 km
Pelourinho de Alverca do Ribatejo
7.4 km
Forte da Portela Pequeno
9.1 km
Igreja Paroquial de Alhandra
9.7 km
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Piedade
7 km
Imóvel em Alcochete, propriedade da Sociedade Imparcial 15 de Janeiro de 1898
10 km
Forte da Serra da Aguieira
9.3 km
Forte da Portela Grande
9.2 km
Igreja Matriz de Santa Iria de Azóia
8 km
Capela de Nossa Senhora da Vida, também denominada «Capela da Senhora da Vida» (antiga Capela do Espírito Santo)
10 km
Igreja da Misericórdia de Alcochete
10 km
Quinta do Sobralinho
8.9 km
Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Piedade
7 km
Pólo de Animação Ambiental do Sítio das Hortas
10.4 kmDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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