Pico da Vara Walking Tour

We go to the highest point on the island of São Miguel (1.105 m), where we have a privileged view over the whole island, on days with little cloudiness, or even a mystical experience in the mist of the Azores. On this hike, which crosses the Pico da Vara Natural Reserve, we travel a dirt track with great landscape diversity, starting in a naturally aromatized cryptomeric forest (Cryptomeria japonica). We will move on to a typical mountain route in the Azores, with underbrush. This is an area with an extremely rich biodiversity, of great importance for the recovery of the Laurissilva forest and the priolo (Pyrrhula Murina), one of the few species of fauna endemic to the Azores. Most of the route is easy to circulate, with some stretches of greater demand in areas with greater gain in elevation. We will make the return path along the same trail, which can be a little slippery, especially during the winter. After the walk, we will pass at the Ribeira dos Caldeirões Natural Park to enjoy, in a more relaxed way, the beauty of the natural waterfalls and the old water mills.