Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, Nature park in Faro, Portugal.
The protected wetland extends over 60 kilometers along the Algarve coast, featuring a network of canals, islands, marshes, and barrier formations.
The Portuguese government established Ria Formosa as a natural reserve in 1978 and elevated its status to a nature park in 1987.
Local communities maintain traditional activities such as salt extraction, fishing practices, and shellfish harvesting, contributing to regional gastronomy and economic sustainability.
Visitors can start their exploration at the Environmental Education Center of Marim, which provides information about hiking trails and bird observation points.
The area serves as a crucial habitat for the Portuguese water dog, a breed that fishermen historically used to assist in catching fish.
Location: Faro
Inception: 1978
Operator: Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas
Part of: Sotavento Algarvio
Opening Hours: 24/7
Website: http://icnf.pt/portal/ap/p-nat/pnrf
GPS coordinates: 37.06318,-7.72360
Latest update: December 6, 2025 17:15
Inland Algarve holds nature reserves, medieval castles, and Roman ruins that together form a wide picture of Portuguese history and nature. Monchique has thermal springs, Silves shows a castle built of red sandstone, and Faro contains a chapel lined with human bones. Natural parks like Ria Formosa provide habitat for many bird species, while historic villages, coastal fortresses, and lighthouses mark the landscape. Travelers through this region encounter places like Cabo de São Vicente, where land ends at the southwestern tip of Europe, the cliffs of Ponta da Piedade near Lagos, or the ruins of Paderne Castle. Caldas de Monchique invites bathing in warm spring water, the Percurso dos Sete Vales Suspensos follows the coast through cut valleys, and Igreja do Carmo in Faro holds another bone chapel. Between these are beaches like Praia da Marinha and Praia do Barril, Roman excavations such as Cerro da Vila in Quarteira, and Palácio de Estoi, a pink palace from the 19th century. The Algarve connects coast and interior, history and nature in a way best explored on foot.
Praia do Barril
5.3 km
Estádio Algarve
22.5 km
Capela dos Ossos
19.2 km
Estádio de São Luís
18.8 km
Roman Ruins of Estoi
16.4 km
Praia de Cacela Velha
18.9 km
Pego do inferno
10.6 km
Palácio de Estói
15.7 km
Estoi
14.7 km
Church of São Lourenço (Almancil)
25.4 km
Cathedral of Faro
19.6 km
Moncarapacho
5.3 km
Castelo de Tavira
9.4 km
Igreja do Carmo
19.4 km
Castelo de Loulé
28 km
Cabo de Santa Maria Lighthouse
15.9 km
Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo
11.6 km
Teatro Lethes, Faro
19.2 km
Muralhas de Faro
19.5 km
Palacete Belmarço
19.4 km
Arraial Ferreira Neto
10.6 km
Praia da Manta Rota
21.3 km
Arco da Vila
19.5 km
Forte de São João da Barra
14.4 km
Tavira island beach
10.2 km
Igreja Paroquial de Santiago de Tavira
9.4 km
Fortress of Cacela
19 km
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