From August 24 to 30, the Manta Rota festivities are organized by the Association "A Manta" with the support of Vila Real de Santo António Town Council, Town Council of Vila Nova de Cacela, other local entities and regional companies and even local businesses and traders. The fishing village nowadays dedicated to tourism has celebrated this tradition for many years, its high point being the "Holy Bath".

According to historians, St. John the Baptist was beheaded on August 29. Hundreds of "mountaineers," a name given to people from the Algarve, traveled to the beach of Manta Rota accompanied by their pack animals to "bathe".

Nowadays, the people who take part dress in the "mountain" reconstructing the moment historically. Nowadays, there are less serranos to participate in the activity, but the present generations portray the moment "live and in colors".