Queda do Vigário (Vigário Waterfall), also known as Cascata de Alte, is an impressive 24 meter high waterfall located on the Alte River, an idyllic place in the region for relaxation and contact with nature. This waterfall is fed by groundwater that emerges to the surface in the Alte springs, upstream, and which is part of the Querença-Silves aquifer system (largest freshwater reservoir in the Algarve).

Groundwater flowing through fractured Jurassic limestone rocks naturally wells to the surface due to contact with the less permeable rocks of the Volcano-Sedimentary Complex. When these waters from the Alte stream, enriched in dissolved carbonates and calcium, come into contact with the air, calcium carbonate is deposited on all types of materials on the banks and bed of the watercourse, giving rise to limestone tuffs in which are found preserved remains of plants such as grasses, bryophytes, olive leaves (Olea europaea) and Quercus.