Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana

The wild valley of the Guadiana, between the gorge of Pulo do Lobo and the steppes of the Alentejo.

The Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana, in the lower Alentejo, protects the last great stretch of the river: a valley of cliffs, cork-oak hills and steppes between Mértola and the border, where the Guadiana runs between banks of schist towards the sea. It is one of the wildest landscapes of southern Portugal — the country of eagles, of the river and of the silence of the plain.

The park

The park was created in the 1990s to protect the valley of the Guadiana and its surroundings: the gorges of the river, with the narrow passage of Pulo do Lobo, the hills of cork and holm oaks, and the plains of the interior, home to birds of the steppe and of prey. Along the river, the white villages — Mértola among them — look over the water, and the paths of the park cross the landscapes of the river, of the woods and of the plain.

O que ver

The gorge of the Guadiana and the rapids of Pulo do Lobo.
The cork-oak hills and the steppes of the lower Alentejo.
The birds of prey and the wildlife of the river valley.
The river villages, with Mértola over its great bend.

Visiting

The park stretches along the Guadiana, around Mértola, in the lower Alentejo, explored by the roads and the paths that follow the river; the walks and the observation of the wildlife demand care with the heat of summer and with the terrain, and the conditions of the trails and of the protected areas follow the official information of the institute that manages them.