Designated in 1988 (Protected Landscape), 1995 (Nature Park)

The Nature Park extends along the coast of Sines, Odemira, Aljezur and Vila do Bispo municipalities and includes a 2 km wide section of sea. It includes an enormous diversity of landscapes shaped by the influence of the sea on the sand, schist and limestone-based soil: the cliffs are high and the valleys are sheer, and waterways can be temporary or permanent. There are also beaches, dunes, temporary lagoons, marshes, islets, rocks and estuaries. The Nature Park’s highest point is at Cerro de S. Domingos e S. Luís, in Odemira municipality, at 324 m above sea level. The lowest point is bathymetric 38 m, around 1500 metres from the Carrapateira promontory. Close to 500 of the approximately 750 plant species known to exist in this area are endemic to Portugal and twelve of them are not found anywhere else in the world, among them the extremely rare Silene rothmaleri and Plantago almogravensis. During spring and autumn this is an important stopover for migrating birds. It is also the only place known in the world where the white stork Ciconia ciconia nests in sea cliffs. There is a population of otters Lutra lutra along the seashore. The marine and river estuary environments are vital for early development of a great number of species, such as sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax, sole Solea spp. and goose barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes.

Traces of ancient human presence can be found at numerous archaeological sites (such as Samouqueira and Castelejo), in megalithic remains like cromlechs, and buildings with heritage value (Pessegueiro, Vila Nova de Mil Fontes and S. Vicente castles and the Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Salvas). The traditional economic activities of the Nature Park are agriculture, forestry and cattle-raising, and cork production in montados (open areas of holm oak and cork oak), traditional fishing and, more recently, tourism and intensive farming.