Around 1,600km off the coast of Portugal are the nine islands of the Azores. Here, rare ancient forests, secluded waterfalls, and dominating volcanic craters are best explored on foot. Writer Monica Meade discovers the wild and diverse nature of the archipelago with an unforgettable hike on each island.
The Azores’ erratic weather is something I learned to love. White knuckle flights on minibus-sized planes and being caught off-guard by pelting showers and stubborn fog taught me to look closer, rather than hunt for views, and understand why nature here thrives. There’s equilibrium to be found between the people, temperamental weather and delicate nature.
Although these volcanic Portuguese islands share a small space in the Atlantic, they each have a unique identity. Between revealing each island’s beauty and experiencing the kindness and generosity of the people I met—I was even invited to help catch and kill a goat with my bare hands and to share it over dinner, though I politely declined—I couldn’t think of anywhere better to island-hop and hike. So here’s a round-up of my favorite hike from each island.
The Morro Alto e Pico da Sé Nature Reserve on the island of Flores mirrors the intense temperamental mood of the mid-Atlantic skies with its endemic shrubs and low-lying cedar framing the Lagoa Comprida and impressively deep Lagoa Negra.
Within it, you will find the Miradouro das Lagoas – PR1FLO – Poço do Bacalhau – Ribeira do Ferreiro route, which winds past four stunning vistas. After passing two more lakes, I’m led to views from 600 meters (2,000 feet) above the coast with Faja Grande’s terracotta-roofed homes and ruffled green cliffs looking miniature below me. Layers of rock pave the dizzying trail down to pastureland divided by imperfectly hand-stacked walls before reaching Ponta.
Now I get the vertigo warning. A slender cliffside path towards Ponta Delgada drops vertically into the ocean. Returning to Poço do Bacalhau for a chance to dip my feet for some momentary relief, a white veil of water cascades into a calm natural pool. Beyond here, the trail continues to the renowned Cascata da Ribeira do Ferreiro—a wall of waterfalls tumbling from a 500-meter (1,600-foot) ledge.
Trail: Miradouro das Lagoas – PR1FLO – Poço do Bacalhau – Ribeira do Ferreiro
Type: Point-to-point
Distance: 16 km / 10 miles
Time: 5 hours
Elevation gain: 751m / 2500ft
It takes 15 minutes to leave the narrow cobbled streets of Corvo’s pocket-sized town before reaching fields of penny-sized yellow and purple wildflowers and beginning the point-to-point hike called Cara do Índio. I wander towards a crooked stone arch and onto flat ground with knee-height walls resembling a Roman fort as I notice a renegade cow outrunning a farmer in the distance. It’s nice to have some entertainment on this route.
At the pinnacle of the island, I struggle to comprehend the highlight of the hike: A 300-meter (1,000-foot) deep crater with a sharp, uneven rim. Inside are comically green mounds—one resembling a duck in water laying on its front. Excitement fuels me to jog down the slope as the words of a local man and traditional woodwork shop owner David T.L., who I met before my trek, replay in my head: “When the wind is still and the clouds clear, the water turns into a mirror and time stops.”
Trail: Cara do Índio – Corvo PR01 COR
Type: Point-to-point
Distance: 10.3 km / 6.5 miles
Time: 3 – 4 hours
Elevation gain: 303m / 1,000ft
I learned quickly that the Dez Vulcões (10 Volcanoes) hike is not for the faint of heart. At around 800 meters (2,600 feet) above sea level, the trail curves around the rim of a 400-meter (1,300-foot) deep Caldera that has a world all its own within—filled with marshland, flora and small lakes. Descending to the west of the Caldera, I pass a handful of small volcanic cones and move past a deep vent cave into a cedar forest teeming with hydrangeas. It looks like the setting of a legend.
Thick fog creeps up behind, so I leg it before the veil can spoil the views ahead of me. Reaching the quiet village of Capelo, I scurry past a creepy, hollow vent, known as the ‘bad cave’—or Cabeco Verde. The final stretch of the route delivers a striking contrast to the caldera as the grey and cream curves of a soft volcanic moonscape—which was formed after an eruption in 1957—come into view.
Trail: Ten Volcanoes – Faial PR06 FAI
Type: Point-to-point
Distance: 19.3 km / 12 miles
Time: 5 hours
Elevation gain: –841m / -2,760ft
The Pico Mountain trail on the island of Pico ascends to the highest peak in Portugal: Pico Grande. Staring up at the pointed 2,351-meter (7,713-foot) volcano, intrusive thoughts of my track record of poor footing and falling on my ass fill my mind. But I’m soon put at ease by Hominis natura’s guide Steffi’s confidence. We’re immediately faced with a near-vertical stomp on uneven boulders and sinking soil lined with healthy green Urze bushes as Atlantic gusts fight against us.
Approaching the summit, I cling to rocks with both hands as we ascend. The final push is a 70-meter (230-foot) cone. I flash Steffi a ‘friendly’ smile, but I imagine the crouching stance, flushed red face and wide eyes make me look more like an angry gremlin. Finally plonking myself down, we reap the rewards of our journey: 360-degree views of the Atlantic, UNESCO World Heritage vineyards, and the nearby islands of São Jorge and Faial.
Trail: Pico Mountain Trail
Type: Out and back
Distance: 6.3 km / 4 miles
Time: 6 – 8 hours
Elevation gain: 1,066m / 3,500ft
From Serra do Topo Wind Farm, I tread across the Caldeira de Santo Cristo and down sloping cliffs, carefully treading between Azorean heather-dressed ridges. It’s there that the rich aroma of Azorean Juniper is lifted into the air by a warm breeze and stops me in my tracks.
Views of where the ocean meets the settlement of Faja dos Vimes are revealed as I tread the coastal path of the Serra do Topo – Caldeira do Santo Cristo – Fajã dos Cubres – São Jorge PR01 SJO trek. I pause at a modest waterfall where freshly moistened ferns sprout between mossy boulders and nesting birds. Before finishing the route at Fajã dos Cubres, I strip off at the Caldeira de Santo Cristo for a quick dip in the wonky, love-heart-shaped natural pool, just a stone’s throw away from the breaking waves of the Atlantic.
Trail: Serra do Topo – Caldeira do Santo Cristo – Fajã dos Cubres – São Jorge PR01 SJO
Type: Point-to-point
Distance: 9.5 km / 6 miles
Time: 3 hours
Elevation gain: 200m / 656ft
The journey from West to East of the second-smallest island in the archipelago commences in Serra Branca. Almost immediately, I can see where the names ‘Gracious Island’ and ‘The White Island’ came from as delicate patches of ivory-colored volcanic rock catch my eye.
A steady climb to 360 meters (1180 feet) takes me to the top of the small Caldeirinha (crater). There, I peer into the deeply sunken shrub- and moss-covered center before enjoying a nibble on some cookies and some far-reaching views of the north coast. Continuing across the island, surrounded by rounded hills protruding from cow-grazed land, I reach a wood filled with a sharp and earthy eucalyptus fragrance. The final few kilometers of the trail lead to the ashy sands and small harbor of Praia.
Trail: Serra Branca – Praia – Graciosa PR01 GRA
Type: Point to Point
Distance: 8.7km / 5.4 miles
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Elevation gain: 147m / 482 feet
Ambling along the Algar do Carvão – Furnas do Enxofre – Terceira PRC10 TER route on the island of Terceira, the forest path leads me through soft hills carpeted with native plants and up to a deep geothermal borehole. Where there’s an option for a detour, I usually can’t resist—though it often results in risky climbs and muddy clothes. But this path is easy to navigate. Sweltering green mounds of the Furnas do Enxofre fumarole field seep sour-smelling volcanic gas that whirls around the lichen and algae, making for an always-worth it detour into a world all its own.
Continuing through wildflower meadows, I reach a hilltop with vistas of another mountain, Pico do Alpanaque. Sawn tree trunks pave the way across peatland before I disappear into the musky 3,200-year-old volcanic chimney of Algar do Carvao, with dripping stalagmites and wet mossy walls. Although short, this hike is full of adventure.
Trail Algar do Carvão – Furnas do Enxofre – Terceira PRC10 TER
Type: Loop
Distance: 6.2 km / 3.8 miles
Time: 2 – 3 hours
Elevation gain: 290m / 950ft
As I march toward the peak of the 845-meter (2,772-foot) Pico da Cruz, I’m smacked with viewpoint after viewpoint of the Sete Cidades. From every angle I gawk at the piercing blue and green lakes that sit close together but remain forever apart—the inspiration for the local myth that details how the besotted blue-eyed princess and her green-eyed shepherd filled the two lagoons with their tears over a love unrealized. Framing the lakes are neat rows of short lichen-kissed bushes and radiant pink flowers backed by giant ivy-wrapped evergreens.
Endemic birds fight for their songs to be heard, creating an intense and incoherent chorus. Sweet smells of Mojito fill the air—surely not? Looking down I let out a cackle. Of course, there are blankets of wild mint here. Amid the subtropical, ancient Laurel forest with over 150 endemic plants, wafts of parsley, eucalyptus and deep pine linger as I spend my entire day enjoying the fantastic Rota Circular da Lagoa das Sete Cidades route of São Miguel Island.
Trail: Rota Circular da Lagoa das Sete Cidades
Type: Loop
Distance: 20.3 km / 12.6 miles
Time: 6 – 7 hours
Elevation gain: 769m / 2,522ft
Passing through valleys and over a stream, past ruined windmills and terraced vineyards, this tranquil hike is just what I needed on a lazy Sunday. Stopping at Poço da Pedreira, an olive-green pool of water stretches across the rusty-red wall of straight-edged, basalt rock. Despite being human-made, when bulbous blocks were removed for property construction, this unusual landscape seems familiar among the other majestic spectacles of the archipelago.
Nicknamed the ‘Yellow Island’ because of its climate being warmer than the rest of the Azores, the golden sunshine on the Entre a Serra e o Mar route filled me with an intoxicating lust for a lazy beach day. My afternoon plans are cemented as I welcome views of the champagne-colored sands of São Lourenço Bay and Tagarete Bay at the end of the hike.
Trail: Entre a Serra e o Mar – Santa Maria PRC03 SMA
Type: Loop
Distance: 9.8 km / 6 miles
Time: 2 – 3 hours
Elevation gain: 419m / 1,375ft
Monica is a travel writer who advocates slow and immersive travel, particularly in secluded and untouched locations. She has a soft spot for tiny islands, is always up for an adrenaline sport and has a talent for returning from hikes covered in mud and scratches. Her bylines appear in publications such as British Airways The Club, Life Lovers Magazine and IAG Cargo magazine.
