Pico's old roads on foot: Terra Alta, the Caminho das Voltas, the Canadas da Ribeirinha and the Caminho dos Burros

Three of Pico's official trails follow old roads: a lane that was once the main route to the island's eastern tip, a cart track with the wheel ruts still in the rock, and a donkey path across the highlands. Two start a few hundred metres apart at the Terra Alta viewpoint on the north coast and go in opposite directions; the third crosses the highlands to the Baía de Canas. None of them goes near the mountain, and all three are linear, so the question to settle first is how you get back to your car.

The Terra Alta viewpoint sits on a cliff about 415 metres above the sea, on the border between the parishes of Santo Amaro and Ribeirinha, in the municipality of Lajes do Pico. The platform is built out over the edge, and the view is across the channel to the whole southern side of São Jorge. From Madalena it is a little over 40 kilometres by road, so allow 45 minutes to an hour.

From here the Caminho das Voltas (PR07PIC) goes west, down to Santo Amaro. The Canadas da Ribeirinha (PR18PIC) starts about 500 metres along the road and heads east to Calhau. You can walk one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, or join them up.

This is the short one: 5.8 kilometres, graded easy, about two hours, all downhill from about 419 metres to sea level. It was once the main route from this coast to Ponta da Ilha, and that is why a footpath through a wood has carved stone bridges on it. The wood is mostly pittosporum, an Australian tree now common across the Azores, and in it you pass the walls of abandoned vine plots.

Below the trees the path runs between small fields, most of them still worked as little vineyards. On the left is an abandoned building that was a village butter factory; the trail authority says the old equipment is still inside. Nearer the sea, a detour goes down to the Baía do Canto, a small seaside spot among wine cellars. Back on the route, the last stretch follows a tarmac road along the coast past the Parque da Furada picnic site and into Santo Amaro.

Santo Amaro was the island's boatbuilding village, and it has a maritime museum and a craft school. Neither has set opening hours, so treat them as a bonus if the door is open. Our Prainha and Santo Amaro guide covers the village.

The longer of the two is 8.7 kilometres, graded easy, with four hours given as the average. Plan on the official time. The route keeps leaving the road for lanes and for a path down to the shore.

It begins near the regional road on the Caminho da Atalhada, a dirt lane where you can still see relheiras, the grooves that ox-cart wheels wore into the rock. The lane drops through pittosporum, faya, Azores laurel and Azores holly. Where it reaches tarmac, a marked side path leads to the Alto dos Cedros viewpoint, another look at São Jorge. Back on the route you pass a fountain and the area called Rocha Alta, then walk through Ribeirinha itself.

Ribeirinha is the only parish of Lajes do Pico that lies entirely on the north coast; it was split from Piedade in 1980. At the far end of the village the route goes down the Canada do Mar to the little harbour of Baixa, a place of wine cellars and walled vine plots, where people sit and swim when the sea allows. From there the path follows the coast through Azores heather, turns towards Ponta das Trombetas and ends at Calhau, near the small harbour. Calhau is an official bathing zone in 2026, with the season running from early June to the end of September, so in summer you can finish with a swim.

The trail data puts the start of PR07PIC and the start of PR18PIC about 470 metres apart at Terra Alta, and the end of PR18PIC about 200 metres from the start of PR03PIC, the coastal trail to the Ponta da Ilha lighthouse. Walk the Caminho das Voltas in reverse from Santo Amaro, carry on along the Canadas da Ribeirinha to Calhau and finish on PR03PIC, and you have about 20.6 kilometres along the north-east of the island.

Two warnings. Walking PR07PIC backwards means climbing from sea level to over 400 metres, which the official grading does not account for. And PR03PIC is graded hard; our guide to the east end of Pico describes it. If you only want one long walk, Terra Alta to Calhau with the Alto dos Cedros detour is the better half.

The third old road is the northern half of the old donkey track, and it is a different kind of walk: 8.9 kilometres, graded medium, three and a half hours. It starts in the central highlands beside the Caminho das Lagoas, the long lakes trail (PR19PIC), and heads north. After about 500 metres it takes a shortcut near the Cabeços do Mistério, and a kilometre later narrows into a path through denser growth. The upper section is why you come: the trail authority points out a significant stand of Euphorbia stygiana, a spurge found only in the Azores, and long stretches of Sphagnum moss.

Lower down the route splits. One branch follows a dirt track for about 3 kilometres to São Miguel Arcanjo. The other continues 1.7 kilometres, then turns onto a path lined with pittosporum, acacia and Azores laurel into the Prainha forest park, and ends on a dirt lane at the Baía de Canas, a bay of old wine cellars and walled vineyards.

The start is high and exposed. If the plateau is in cloud, the bog stretches are wet and the waymarks are harder to pick out; our lakes plateau guide explains how fast the fog comes in up there. Walk it downhill, as signed, and save it for a clear day.

All three trails are linear, and the buses on Pico are too sparse to plan a walk around (our getting around guide has the details). These are the road distances you will be covering by taxi or with a second car:

• Santo Amaro back to Terra Alta: about 6 kilometres, ten minutes.
• Calhau back to Terra Alta: about 8 kilometres, ten to fifteen minutes.
• Santo Amaro to Calhau, for the long day: about 14 kilometres, twenty minutes.
• Baía de Canas back to the Caminho dos Burros start: about 13 kilometres, twenty to twenty-five minutes on narrow upland roads.

Ask a taxi to drop you at the top and walk down to your car, or park at the bottom and taxi up. Taxis are metered, so ask roughly what the ride will cost when you book.

The Canadas da Ribeirinha leaflet reminds walkers that the route crosses protected areas of the Pico Natural Park, that gates should be closed behind you, and that in an emergency you call 112 and give the number of the last trail post you passed. Check the alerts page on trails.visitazores.com on the morning you walk; on 16 October 2026 it listed no closures on Pico. Carry water and food.

Which of Pico's old-road trails is easiest? The Caminho das Voltas (PR07PIC): 5.8 kilometres, graded easy, about two hours, all downhill from the Terra Alta viewpoint to Santo Amaro.

Can you walk from Terra Alta to Ponta da Ilha? Yes. Take the Canadas da Ribeirinha (PR18PIC) to Calhau, then PR03PIC to the lighthouse, about 15 kilometres in all. PR03PIC is graded hard.

Do these trails need a permit or a fee? No. Unlike the climb of Mount Pico, none of the three needs a permit or a ticket. Stay on the path and close the gates.

When is the Caminho dos Burros worth doing? On a clear day, for the Euphorbia stygiana and Sphagnum bogs on the upper section. In cloud the highlands are wet and the views are gone.

• Trails of the Azores, PR07PIC Caminho das Voltas
• Trails of the Azores, PR18PIC Canadas da Ribeirinha
• Trails of the Azores, PR02PIC Caminho dos Burros: vertente Norte
• Azores viewpoints, Terra Alta
• Cais do Pico, official bathing areas 2026