Fuseta is the heart of the Ria Formosa Natural Park and surrounded by salt pans.  Our holiday rental Bela Vista Fuseta apartment is the perfect start for your voyage of discovery in this natural park.

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The Ria Formosa is a beautiful lagune composed of canals, sandbanks, swamps, dunes, fresh water lagoons, tidal flats and islets, peninsulas and islands, 60 kms wide, starts at Quinta de Lago and ends at Monta Rota beach just before Altura and Monte Gordo. It is full of life, you will find besides birds, chameleons, sea horses, and shellfish, and considered as an Important Bird Area (IBA) it hosts during winter over 20.000 birds. It is an important resting point between Africa and Europe. 

Due to the tides, currents and continuous movements of winds it is never the same.  

 

The Ria Formosa includes 5 big barrier islands: Ilha Deserta (Baretta Island) Culatra Island (with lighthouse) Island of Armona (with at the right Armona and at the left side the beach Fuseta Mar - Ilha Fuseta) Island of Tavira (with the beaches Praia da Barril, Terra de Estreita and Praia de Tavira) Cabanas Island and 2 peninsulas: Peninsula of Ancão (also called Ilha de Faro) and the Peninsula of Cacela. This amazing area counts 18 000 hectares and goes trough the municipalities of Faro, Loule, Olhão, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo Antonio

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The Ria Formosa has its own visiter center, where you can learn everything about the ecosystem, the salt marshes, dunes and pine trees, the migratory birds, you will see an old tuna fishing boat and a tide mill. All to be discovered during the  2,9 km round trip. Want more information check the website of Visitportugal or just click here.

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When you follow the Eco-Via, by bicycle or by feet, do a boat trip or hire a kayak, you will discover a lot of different birds, plants and have stunning views.