Reserva Natural do Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo António

The complex system of salt marshes, salt pans, canals, ponds, estuaries, and large, vegetation-free areas, located in the municipalities of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, was the first Natural Reserve in Portuguese territory. Land, river (Guadiana), and sea merge, creating a strange but beautiful mosaic that extends to the mouth of the river with Ayamonte on the other side as a backdrop. The land is rich in original flora (especially halophytic species) and, above all, in exotic fauna (birds, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, amphibians, and reptiles).