A Rocha Delicada

The area commonly known as Quinta da Rocha is actually a peninsula bounded by the Odiáxere stream and the Alvor River, which converge to form the Ria de Alvor. Along this route, you’ll encounter a variety of distinct landscapes: farmland, Mediterranean scrub, reed beds, old salt flats, fish farms, and the aquatic ecosystem of the rivers and the Alvor lagoon.

In each of these locations, you can observe characteristic flora and fauna. However, it is the mosaic formed by all these elements in dynamic balance that gives the Alvor Estuary its beauty and importance.

The Alvor Estuary serves as a haven for numerous species, particularly birds. While in spring and summer you may find sandpipers and stilts nesting, in winter the marsh is used by birds that have fled the harsh winter of higher latitudes, such as redshanks, collared pratincoles, black-winged stilts, black-tailed godwits, and flamingos.