East Rocha Baixinha is a large beach, which is delimited to the east by the jetties on the Quarteira Stream and at Vilamoura Marina. The soft, ochre cliffs disappear under the sands, giving rise to a large dune field with a great variety of plant life that you can observe from the network of raised walkways that cross the dunes and the beach.
The fences in front of the dunes prevent people from walking on them, protecting the vegetation and allowing hardy plants to colonise the dunes, securing the sand and encouraging the dunes to grow higher. Inland beyond the dunes, around the final stretch of the Quarteira Stream, an extensive flooded area has formed and a reed plantation has taken root (the Vilamoura Reed Plantation). This, too, is the site of the Vilamoura Environmental Park, and both constitute habitats for many different species of water birds.
You can go for a walk along the nature trails here and spot grey herons and purple swamphens, or even mammals, such as the otter, close to the mouth of the stream.
Turismo do Algarve
Algarve Promotion
Algarve Nature Fest
