Salt Pans of Ria Formosa

Where does the famous flower of salt (fleur de sel) come from? Here you can explore this wonderfully and, with a bit of luck, also discover flamingos

This route is now completely closed.

The salt is still extracted in the traditional way. The actual salt harvest takes place from June to September and the 'salineiros' skim the white gold from the basins. The Flor de Sal, the salt flower, has the highest quality and the highest price. Flor de Sal refers to the salt crystals that first form on the surface of the brine and that only appear under favorable weather conditions (warm, windy). The traditional method of salt extraction is very space-intensive. Only 10% of the area is used for the actual salt crystal extraction, the rest is needed for the pre-concentration basins and the supply and drainage pipes. Source: go-algarve.de/de/sehenswertes/sehenswertes-suedkueste/riaformosa#:~:text=Das%20Salz%20wird%20nach%20wie,Flor%20de%20Sal%2C%20die%20Salzblume.