Ria Formosa

Ria Formosa – is a magnificent natural park in Portugal, on the territory of which there are entire labyrinths of water channels, islets, lagoons. It stretches along the Algarve coast for as long as 60 km and includes the beaches of Garrao and Manta Rota. Ria Formosa Park recently belongs to the list of seven wonders of Portugal.

The landscape of the park is quite changeable, since the local winds and current have a direct impact on it. Due to the diversity of ecosystems, many birds are observed in the park. Here lives the Sultanka bird, which is a symbol of the entire park, since it is not possible to meet it anywhere else in Portugal.

Traveling by Ria Formosa Park must begin with a tourist center where you can find maps with hiking trails, thanks to which you can easily navigate in this area. Here's special shelters you can sit down to watch life in the reserve with pleasure. An unusual animal lives in Ria Formosa Park, which is a huge Portuguese water dog. This animal swims perfectly under water and helps to get fish out of the nets.

Rest in the Ria Formosa park will surely appeal to travelers who prefer loneliness, because it is usually not crowded here.

Very often in demand in the park are boat tours that are performed on traditional regional boats. Of course, a tour that will be accompanied by a guide will be useful and informational. From his story you can learn a lot of new and interesting things. Traveling through the water surface you can observe the animal world of the park in everyday conditions. Among the living things that meet on the way are turtles, dolphins, as well as various amphibians and seabirds. Such an excursion mainly lasts two hours, but there are tours and shorter.

Hiking trails can take a fascinating walk with the main attractions of Ria Formosa, which lasts an average of three hours. For a fee, the guide will accompany you, as a result of which such a route will also be informative. You can also hire an experienced ornithologist who will surely show the most reliable shelters where you can safely monitor the bird world. In the Ria Formosa park there is a very large number of birds, among which only 20 thousand different species.

For tourists of this area there is a lot of entertainment, except for organized tours. It is easy to make a trip on your own by renting a bicycle, catamaran or boat.