Ria Formosa Natural Park: Casa Flor de Sal is located in the Ria Formosa Natural Park, an area of 18400 hectares of tidal marshes and lagoons protected by a spectacular 60 km long web of sandy islands.
The Ria Formosa Park was created in 1978, is protected by UNESCO since 1987 and was elected one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal in 2010.
This nature reserve is of particular importance to bird life, with more than 200 species using the park as a breeding ground, a wintering ground for birds from northern Europe or as a resting station for birds migrating between Africa and Europe. This resulted in its inclusion in the prestigious Ramsar Convention for protection of wetlands.
Ria Formosa also has limited numbers of foxes, badgers, weasels and otters, 50 species of fish (including the largest population of sea horses in the world), 15 reptiles (among them, the emblematic chameleons), many butterflies, and 50 species of beautiful dragonflies and damselflies. There are also a large variety of unique plants with some of them able to survive temporary submersion by seawater.
You will probably get the best view of Ria Formosa when your plane prepares to land at Faro airport. From the air, it is a stunning patchwork of green islets, blue lagoons and white beaches. The beaches are fantastic both for bathers in the long summers and for walkers in the winter. The salt marshes and tidal flats will thrill bird watchers. For nature lovers, artists, photographers and those curious about local life, the park has much to offer.
You can visit the Park simply by getting out of our front gate and going for walks, bike rides, kayak tours or boat trips. A number of sports such as sailing, stand up paddling, surfing and kite surfing can also be practiced in certain areas of the Park.
