Top 10 Viewpoints in the Azores
The Azores are nine volcanic islands in the mid-Atlantic, where green crater walls, blue and green lakes, and steaming fumaroles sit beneath fast-moving cloud. The Portuguese word for a viewpoint, miradouro, is everywhere in these islands, because almost every road climbs to a caldera rim or a coastal headland with a view worth stopping for. These ten miradouros and summits, spread mainly across São Miguel, Pico and Faial, capture the archipelago's volcanic drama.
Miradouro da Vista do Rei, São Miguel
The classic view of the twin crater lakes of Sete Cidades — one traditionally described as blue, the other green — is from the Vista do Rei viewpoint on the caldera rim at around 550 metres. The vast collapsed crater, more than five kilometres across, cradles the lakes and a village. Morning, before the cloud builds, gives the clearest view of both colours.
Lagoa do Fogo viewpoints, São Miguel
The Lagoa do Fogo (Lake of Fire) fills a caldera in the centre of São Miguel, a protected nature reserve ringed by steep green slopes. The miradouros on the road above the lake, around 900 metres, give sweeping views down to the water, often appearing and disappearing through cloud. It is one of the least developed and most beautiful crater lakes in the islands.
Pico Mountain summit
Portugal's highest peak, Pico, rises to 2,351 metres from its own island, a near-perfect volcanic cone. The strenuous summit hike climbs about 1,100 metres over loose volcanic rock and takes around seven hours return. From the top, on a clear day, the neighbouring islands of Faial, São Jorge and Graciosa lie spread across the Atlantic far below. Guides and registration are required.
Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego, São Miguel
On São Miguel's wild north-east coast, the Ponta do Sossego viewpoint sits in landscaped gardens on a clifftop, looking down over volcanic headlands and the ocean. The terraced gardens of hydrangea and exotic plants make it one of the most manicured miradouros, with benches set to face the surf and the cliffs.
Caldeira do Faial
The Caldeira on Faial is a two-kilometre-wide, 400-metre-deep crater whose floor is a protected reserve of laurel forest and bog. The rim viewpoint at around 1,000 metres looks down into the green bowl and, on clear days, across to Pico's cone. A trail circles the entire rim for those who want a longer walk with constantly changing views.
Capelinhos, Faial
The Capelinhos volcano erupted in 1957-58, adding new land to Faial and burying a lighthouse in ash. The moonscape of grey ash and cinder cones, with the half-buried lighthouse and an underground visitor centre, is a stark and powerful viewpoint over recent volcanic creation, utterly different from the green calderas elsewhere.
Miradouro da Boca do Inferno, São Miguel
A short walk from Vista do Rei, the Boca do Inferno ("Mouth of Hell") viewpoint gives perhaps the finest panorama of the Sete Cidades crater complex, taking in several small lakes and the full sweep of the caldera. The slightly higher, quieter vantage rewards the short uphill walk with the most complete view of the volcanic landscape.
Terra Nostra and Furnas valley views
The Furnas valley on São Miguel is a steaming volcanic basin of hot springs, fumaroles and a crater lake. Viewpoints on the surrounding slopes look down over the lake, the cooking pits where the local cozido stew is buried in the hot earth, and the rising steam. It is a uniquely active volcanic landscape best seen in the soft morning light.
Miradouro da Serra do Cume, Terceira
On Terceira, the Serra do Cume viewpoint at around 545 metres looks out over a vast caldera floor divided into a patchwork of green fields by dark stone walls — often called the island's "amphitheatre." The geometric quilt of pastures stretching to the sea is one of the most distinctive rural panoramas in the Azores.
Miradouro do Pico do Areeiro area, Santa Maria
The island of Santa Maria, the oldest and sunniest of the Azores, offers viewpoints over the dramatic Baía de São Lourenço, an amphitheatre bay of terraced vineyards descending to a curving beach. The clifftop miradouros above the bay frame the terraces and the deep blue water, a gentler, warmer landscape than the high calderas.
Explore on the map
From the twin lakes of Sete Cidades to the summit of Pico and the ash fields of Capelinhos, every viewpoint above is plotted on the interactive map. Use it to see which are roadside miradouros and which require a summit hike, and plan an island-hopping route that works around the fast Atlantic cloud of the Azores.