Reserva Natural do Estuário do Sado

Encompassing most of the estuary and its surrounding area (municipalities of Alcácer do Sal, Grândola, Palmela and Setúbal), the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve is a mix of river and sea water, where sandbanks and mudflats, beaches and dunes, and salt marshes and reed beds hide from less curious eyes, in a rich ecosystem with varied fauna and flora. The Reserve is particularly important as a nesting site for waders and ducks, possessing the most significant dolphin population in the country. The marginal areas and areas such as the Tróia dunes and the Herdade do Pinheiro lagoons are an integral part of the Nature Reserve, in a total area of ​​around 23,000 hectares.