A 60-kilometre system of lagoons, salt marshes, channels and barrier islands stretching east from Faro along the Algarve coast. The constantly shifting sandbars protect calm tidal flats that are one of the most important wintering grounds for waders in southern Europe — flamingos, spoonbills, sandwich terns, the rare purple swamphen and the equally rare Audouin's gull all show up reliably.
Small boats and ferries leave from the harbour pier and from Olhão. Most visitors are here for the beaches on Ilha Deserta and Ilha da Culatra, but the park is at its best on a slow boat trip through the channels in early morning, when the light is low and the birds are out. The visitor centre at Quinta de Marim, just east of Olhão, has a four-kilometre walking trail through pine woods and salt pans.