A journey through the 14 Portuguese natural parks

Land routes and wooden walkways, shaded areas where you can watch nature and have a picnic, but also the right place to engage in a number of sports such as canoeing, mountain biking or paragliding: natural parks are areas under protection but which you can also enjoy. Learn about the 14 Portuguese natural parks identified by the Institute of Nature Conservation and Forests, which you can visit and that help, to a large extent, preserving national biodiversity.

Preserving the natural and cultural heritage of natural parks is the main objective of these Protected Areas, included in the National Network of Protected Areas (RNAP). To better immerse yourself in nature, prepare your visit by visiting Biodiversidade.com.pt, a website detailing the Portuguese natural parks covered by the National Network of Protected Areas (RNACP), 13 of them are national and one regional.

Alvão Natural Park

Located between the provinces of Minho and Trás-os-Montes, extending along the municipalities of Mondim de Basto and Vila Real, this park includes the Olo River waterfall in Fisgas do Ermelo in the heart of Serrado Alvão, an area acknowledged for its great natural beauty. About 200 species have already been inventoried, from avifauna to mammals (among them the European otter, Lutra lutra or the badger, Meles meles) and reptiles. The ICNF states that, of these, 117 are included in Appendix II of the Berne Convention and 44 were included in the list of threatened species of the Red Book of Vertebrates of Portugal. About 486 plant species are inventoried, of which 25 Iberian endemisms, 7 Lusitanian endemisms and 23 with conservation status.

Learn more about the Alvão Natural Park.

Arrábida Natural Park

Extending over 17,000 hectares, 5,000 of them in the ocean, the Arrábida Natural Park is located in the municipalities of Palmela, Sesimbra and Setúbal. The unique characteristics of the park – soil, climate and geological – are home to several habitats. As to the flora, it is worth mentioning the gorse bush(Ulex densus), 30 species of orchids and kermes oak(Quercus coccifera),  recently designated Quercus pseudococcifera along with about 1450 inventoried species, 90 of which classified of high genetic heritage value.650 species of invertebrates have already been identified and two species stand out: the pink emerald weevil (Cneorhinus serranoi) and the snail (Candidula setubalensis, exclusive endemisms of the Arrábida mountain range (the latter contained in the IUCN Red List). The Professor Luiz Saldanha Marine Park, named after the biologist, extends over an area of 52 km2 and is part of the European conservation network – Natura 2000 Network. More than 1,400 species have been recorded in the area.

Learn more about the Arrábida Natural Park.

Douro International Natural Park

This park extends over the municipalities of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Miranda do Douro and Mogadouro, bordering the Douro River and the Águeda tributary and covers an area of almost 90 thousand hectares. Its rich fauna consists of 250 species: 35 mammals – such as the wolf (Canis lupus), the deer (Capreolus capreolus) and the wild boar (Sus scrofa); 170 birds (especially the rupicolous birds,  rocky substrates to nest, the black stork (Ciconia nigra), the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) or the Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata), 20 reptiles – such as the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), 11 amphibians and 14 fish species.

Learn more about the Douro International Natural Park.

Natural Park of the Northern Coast

Located in the municipality of Esposende, between the mouth of the Neiva River and Apulia, this park extends over 16 kilometres along the northern coastline, covering a total of 8761 thousand hectares,  a mostly marine area (7703 thousand hectares). In its diversified habitats, 240 species of plants were inventoried scattered through 15 habitats of the Habitats Directive, and four of them are considered a priority. As for fauna, 211 vertebrate species were inventoried. Among these 117 bird species stand out, such as the black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) and the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), both with threatened species status, 10 mammals (such as the otter (Lutra lutra) or European polecat (Mustela putorius), 6 reptiles, 7 amphibians (such as the Iberian painted frog (Discoglossus galganoi) or the Iberian spadefoot toad (Pelobates cultripes), both to be included in Appendix II of the Berne Convention) and 72 fish, including four endangered species contained in the Red Book of Vertebats of Portugal.

Montesinho Natural Park

On the border with Spain, in the Upper Northeast of the Trás os Montes province, this park is located in the municipalities of Bragança and Vinhais, occupying more than 74 thousand hectares and the mountains of Montesinha and Coroa. This natural park features oak groves where the black oak (Quercus pyrenaica) is predominant, along with chestnut trees, riparian groves, assorted bushes, heather and cistus or rockroses. Due to the diversity of habitats in the mountain, we can find 110 species of nesting birds here such as the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetus).

Learn more about the Montesinho Natural Park.

In the eastern Algarve, extending through the municipalities of Faro, Loulé, Olhão, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António, the Ria Formosa Natural Park occupies 18,000 hectares of lagoon area. Dunes, marshes and forests are the three existing habitats in this park each of them with different types of vegetation and fauna. As for the flora, the beach thyme (Thymus carnosus) stands out, along with a psamophyte (that is, that occurs in dry and sandy places) endemic to Portugal, which can be found in the Alentejo and Algarve. In this park we can watch several species of migratory waterfowl, coming from northern Europe, such as the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and the Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope), but also a colony of little egret (Egretta garzetta). This estuary is home to many species of fish, molluscs and crustaceans, and among its ichthyofauna (assorted fish species) of the park 65 species were identified. Another species worth mentioning: the chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon), threatened with extinction and a species that occurs only on the eastern Algarve coast. The caiman or sultana chicken (Porphyrio porphyrio) is a species whose presence in Portugal occurs only in the Ria Formosa. This is why this endangered species was chosen as the symbol of this park.

Learn more about the Ria Formosa Natural Park.

Serra da Estrela Natural Park

Occupying much of the Estrela massif and the municipalities of Celorico da Beira, Covilhã, Gouveia, Guarda, Manteigas and Seia, this natural park extends over 89 thousand hectares. In its extension are lagoons, grasslands high up, peatlands, oak groves, chestnut groves and evergreen oak groves. Here endemisms of the Serra da Estrela can be seen, such as Festuca henriquesii, Leontodon pyrenaicus subsp. herminicus and Ranunculus abnormis and others, rare, such as Alchemilla transiens and Gentiana lutea. As for the fauna, it differs depending on the environment in which it occurs: rural (such as the common buzzard, the mole or the hare), forest (such as the genet, the bush owl or the horseshoe whip snake), shrubby (such as the badger, the wren or the midwife frog), subalpine (such as the mountain gecko, the red-billed chough or the Eurasian eagle owl) and water courses (such as the white-throated dipper, the water mole or the kingfisher).

Learn more about the Serra da Estrela Natural Park.

Natural Park of Serra de S. Mamede

In the territory of the municipalities of Arronches, Castelo de Vide, Marvão and Portalegre, the Natural Park of Serra de S. Mamede occupies more than 56 thousand hectares. Its symbol is the Bonelli’s eagle, a prey that nests on the cliffs  of this mountain range. In it we can see oak groves, chestnut groves, cork oaks and evergreen oaks, assorted shrubs, rockroses, proof of the Atlantic and Mediterranean influence of this area. 800 flower species have been identified here. The distinct habitats that are created to the north and west and the south and east are conducive to the existence of birds (150 species identified by the Atlas of Birds of the Natural Park), such as the griffon (Gyps fulvus) and the black vulture (Aegypius monachus) and bat colonies, but also amphibians and reptiles (such as the waterlizard (Lacertashreiberi), the Iberian midwife frog (Alytescisternasii), distributed by sclerophyllous forests (adapted to the dry climate), natural and semi-natural herbaceous formations, rocky habitats and caves and forests, especially the black oak (Quercus pyrenaica).

Learn more about the Serra de S. Mamede Natural Park.

Natural Park of Serras de Aire and Candeeiros

The Natural Park of Serras de Aire and Candeeiros, located in the municipalities of Alcobaça, Porto de Mós, Alcanena, Santarém, Torres Novas and Ourém, covers more than 38 thousand hectares, based on the limestone mountains of the centre of the country. The symbol of the park is the bat, a cave species that has in this Protected Area 18 identified species. In the park, there are several habitats, including some priority habitats, such as 3170 – Mediterranean temporary ponds, 5230 – Arborescent shrublands of Laurus nobilis or 6110 – Limestone rupicolous meadows or basophils of the Alysso-Sedion albi.

Learn more about the Natural Park of Serras de Aire and Candeeiros.

Natural Park of Sintra-Cascais
From the municipality of Sintra to the Citadel of Cascais, encompassing rural area and coastal strip, this park extends over 14 thousand hectares. Included in the Natura 2000 Network, the park’s coastline and the Sintra mountain range are included in the “Sintra-Cascais Site”, where a great diversity of habitats and endemisms occur, with 900 species of native flora identified, 10% of them endemic. More than 200 vertebrate species were recorded from the observations, of which 33 are mammals (such as the hedgehog – Erinaceus europaeus), 160 birds (such as the Peregrine falcon – Falco peregrinus), 12 amphibians, 20 reptiles (such as the water lizard) and 9 freshwater fish (especially the Portuguese hawk – Iberochondrostoma lusitanicum).
Learn more about the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park.

Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park

From the south of the Alentejo to the south coast of the Algarve, located in the municipalities of Aljezur, Odemira, Sines and Vila do Bispo, this park occupies more than 89 thousand hectares, almost 29 thousand hectares in a marine area. The diversity of habitats (35 in total, many unique to the Southwest Coast Site) results in a variety of fauna and flora. There can be found the only marine population of otter (Lutra lutra) that is known in our country. Other occurrences worth highlighting: the Cabrera’s vole (Microtus cabrerae) and the water lizard (Lacerta schreiberi). The flora is divided by three geomorphological environments: the western barrocal, the coastal plateau and the coastal mountains and ravines. In total, 750 species occur, 100 of them endemic (such as Biscutella vicentina or Cistus palhinhae), rare or localized and 12 exist only in this park. When the tree species, the cork oak (Quercus suber), the little oak (Quercus faginea) or arbutus tree (Arbutus unedo) can be observed on the slopes of the ravines. Of the marine species highlight the algae found in the rocky bottoms, such as Codium spp., Enteromorpha spp. and the deep-sea tangles.
Learn more about the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.

Tagus International Natural Park

From Castelo Branco to Idanha-a-Nova and Vila Velha de Ródão, the more than 26,000 hectares of this park occupy the section of the Tagus River on the border with Spain, its valleys and flattened areas. The Tagus cliffs are a point of concentration of species of fauna and flora, as well as the water lines that occur there. The 16 natural habitats of the park are inscribed in Annex B-I of Decree-Law No. 49/2005, of 24 February, three of which are priority: the 3170 – Mediterranean temporary ponds, the 6220 – Grass and annual substeps of Thero-Brachypodietea and 91E0 – Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus Excelsior alluvial forests (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae and Salicion albae). In the landscape, of the tree species stands out the holm oak(Quercusrotindifolia), the cork oak (Quercus suber) and the executioner (Quercus coccifera). In all, 610 species from 92 botanical families were identified, 51 of them endemic, such as Anthyllis lusitanica and Campanula transtagana. As for fauna, there are more than 200 species, 11 of them considered endangered, 13 vulnerable and some rare. Here one can observe the rare black stork (Ciconia nigra), the black vulture (Aegypius monachus) and the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and also some fish with the same status, such as the berian arched-mouth nase (Chondrostoma lemmingii).
Learn more about the Douro International Natural Park.

Guadiana Valley Natural Park

In Mértola and Serpa, in the middle valley of the Guadiana River, this natural park extends over almost 70,000 hectares. In its plains, hills and valleys embedded in the river are several species. Rockrose areas and rainfed crops, holm oak and some cork oak make up the landscape of the park. In this area rich in avifauna we can find several species of birds of prey: in Mértola we can watch an important urban colony of lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni), a rare and endangered species. In the river basin, 11 species of native and resident fish are observed, many Iberian endemisms, such as the Spanish minnowcarp (Anaecypris hispanica), the Guadiana nase (Pseudochondrostoma willkommii) and the small-headed barb (Luciobarbus microcephalus).
Learn more about the Guadiana Valley Natural Park.

Vale do Tua Regional Natural Park

The 25 thousand hectares of this park, distributed by Vila Real and Braga, are located in Baixo Tua with a varied landscape of mountains, plateaus and embedded valleys along the Douro, Tua and Tinhela rivers. 700 species of vascular flora and 400 species of cryptogamic flora (whose sexual organs are hidden, such as bryophytes and lichens) were identified in the area, marking the endemism Digitalis purpurea subsp. amandiana. The boxwood, the maple, and oak-crested cork oaks are some of the trees found in the landscape. The fauna is rich, having so far been identified 943 species (744 terrestrial invertebrates, 15 fish, 12 amphibians, 20 reptiles, 123 birds and 29 mammals). Due to its rarity, the water mole (Galemys pyrenaicus), the goat rat (Microtus cabrera), the otter (Lutra lutra) and the king snitch (Bubo bubo) stand out.

Learn more about the Vale do Tua Regional Natural Park.