The island of Faial has an extensive network of well-marked hiking trails and paths for every kind of hiking enthusiast, from unexperienced to ultra-fit.
Here’s the 10 best hiking trails in Faial
There are a number of beaches and natural pools in Faial, one white sandy beach, a handful of black sand stretches and various natural or semi-natural pools that should be enough for almost every traveller’s relax, sunbathing and swimming need.
When the weather is nice, the sunsets on the southwest coast of Faial are nothing short of spectacular!
The Morro de Castelo Branco (White Castle Hill) is a fascinating and curious whitish rock formation that lies on the south-west coast of the island of Faial, close to Horta Airport in the freguesia (civil parish) of Castelo Branco.
Just 65 years ago the island of Faial, in the Azores, was 2,4 square kilometres smaller, and had more than twice the population it has today.
Capelinhos, the volcano, was just one of the thousands of submerged dormant cone off the coast of the island of Faial, in the Azores archipelago
Horta is the municipality and the major city of the island of Faial, Azores with around 7000 inhabitants. Founded in 1467 by Josse van Huerter, is now a major stop for yachts and vessels sailing across the Atlantic Oceans due to its naturally sheltered harbour and its Marina, which is one of the main attractions for tourists too.
Most of the traditional Pico houses are done like this also on other Azorean islands, but for some reason, probably due to the typical surroundings, people tend to associate them with this beautiful island.
Santa Maria Island, 16.6 km long and with a maximum width of 9.1 km, has an area of 97 km2. 5,552 people live there (data from 2011). Santa Maria, together with São Miguel, which is 81 km away, is part of the Eastern Group of the archipelago.
Terceira Island is the second most populous island in the Azores, with 56,437 residents. It is called the lilac island because of the color used on many facades, especially in the city of Angra do Heroísmo.
The Azores islands (Açores in Portuguese) are an archipelago made up of nine beautiful islands of volcanic origin located in the North Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago is an autonomous region of Portugal and has a total area of around 2350 km², a number of inhabitants of around 250,000 and a low population density (around 105.76 inhab./km²).
Corvo Island is the smallest of the Azores at just 6.2 km long and 4 km wide. Together with Flores, which is 17.9 kilometers away, is part of the Western Group of the archipelago.
Flores Island, Azores. Inhabited by roughly 4.000 people, it is the westernmost point of the European continent. It’s 16.6 kilometers long and 12.2 kilometers at maximum width, with an area of 141.4 km2.
With 54 kilometers in length and 6.9 in maximum width, São Jorge Island , in the Azores, has a cigar-like shape and looks like a chain of volcanic reliefs stretched from North-east to South-east. Its total area of 243.9 km2 is inhabited by roughly 9,000 people.
