Terceira & Graciosa: between cultural and natural heritage

Today take your hire car and drive across the island. With the island being quite small you will be able to do a few of the suggestions below in the same day.  

-1. Possibly one of the most untamed itineraries on this island! Along small swampy lakes at first, this hike will take you through a dense and endemic forest (the primary forest) to the Misterios Negros, these round lava hills formed during the eruption of 1761, and dotted around the landscape like molehills
Walk : Gruta do Natal > Misterios Negros > Gruta do Natal | 1h30 | 5,2 km / 3,2 miles | Elevation : +/-165m

- 2.  A lovely loop hike that winds its way through a dense forest of heather and cryptomerias before climbing the cliffs and the large rock face of Rocha do Chambre. The return is through pastures and wide paths bordered with endemic vegetation.
Walk : Rocha do Chambre loop | 3h30 | 8,5km /5,2 miles | Elevation : +/-250m
. This hike can be combined with the Misterios Negros hike in the same day.

- 3. In Between those two walks (or instead of), you may also take the time to  :
. go for a swim in the volcanic swimming pool of Biscoitos only a 10 min drive from the departure point of both walks.
. on your way Furnas do Enxofre, visit an impressive example of active volcanism. A landscaped path winds through a field of fumaroles with sulphurous vapors, just amazing ! (free entrance)
. dedicate your day to driving around the island and discovering small villages like Praia da Vittoria, the mountain of Serra de Santa Barbara, the viewpoint from Serra do Cume overlooking a giant patchwork of carefully squared cultures of basalt walls.

Meals included : breakfast
Night : Angra do Heroismo or Santa Barbara

Return your hire car to the airport and fly out to Graciosa Island (30 minutes flight). Welcome to the island of tranquility ! Classified by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve (along with Flores and Corvo), Graciosa is the second smallest island of the archipelago and also one of the flattest with several plains and gentle hills. The rich soil and the mild climate were an excellent breeding ground for cereal and vineyards in the 18th century. Today, only the windmills remain witness to this glorious past and are a symbol of the island.

Meals included : breakfast
Night : Praia or Santa Cruz

From Praia de Mateus, the path will take you up to the Caldeira where you can visit 3 volcanic cavities including the Furna do Enxofre, one of the biggest natural domes in the world. The panoramic path that goes around the caldeira gives you beautiful views over the southern coast of the island but also over Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico and Faial (depending on the weather conditions) before walking down to the small fisherman port of Baia da Folga.

Walk : Praia > Furna do Enxofre > Baia da Folga | 4h30 | 18,2 km / 11 miles | Elevation : +625m/-615m
Meals included : breakfast
Night : Praia or Santa Cruz
 

After breakfast, transfer to the airport. Flight back to Terceira. Then you take a domestic flight to either Faial, São Miguel or Terceira to get your connecting flight or continue  your Azores walking holiday with one of our tours on these islands.

Meals included: breakfast