São Jorge's north-coast fajã walks: Fajãs do Toledo (PRC08SJO) and Norte Pequeno (PRC06SJO)

Most people who walk on São Jorge go to Santo Cristo. Further west along the same north coast, two official circular trails go down the cliff to fajãs that see far fewer walkers: the Fajãs do Toledo loop in the municipality of Velas and the Norte Pequeno loop in Calheta. Each takes about three hours and starts at the top of the cliff, so the climb comes at the end.

The short version: Toledo is shorter, steeper and wilder, a descent to three fajãs the 1980 earthquake emptied. Norte Pequeno is longer but easier, with a chapel, a fishing harbour and a place to swim at the bottom.

A fajã is a flat strip of land at the foot of a sea cliff, left by a landslide from the cliff above or by a lava flow that ran into the sea. The soil is fertile and the microclimate down by the sea is mild, so families from the villages on top farmed them for centuries, with vines, fruit trees, yams and vegetables. Many had houses, cellars and wine presses. The earthquake of 1 January 1980 brought down rock on several of them, and on the north coast some were never farmed in the same way again.

The official figures: 6.8 kilometres, circular, graded hard, about three hours. The start, by the São José chapel in the village of Toledo (built in 1889), is at about 549 metres, and the lowest point is 4 metres above the sea. You go all the way down and come all the way back up.

Part of the trail is inside the São Jorge Natural Park and in the core zone of the Fajãs de São Jorge Biosphere Reserve.

The first stretch is gentle. You follow the old regional road to the right, then drop through fields that once grew maize and wheat and are now pasture. You can see Ponta Furada and the lava fajã of Ouvidor, and on a clear day out to Graciosa and Terceira.

Then come the three fajãs.

• Fajã Manuel Teixeira, also called Fajã do Caminho do Meio, after an old stairway path that was abandoned after the earthquake. You pass small terraces once planted with vines and fruit trees, yams growing by the springs, ruined buildings and the cables that carried firewood up the cliff. The regional environment directorate notes a few surviving wine cellars and stone basins cut into the open rock.
• Fajã Rasa, across the Ribeira da Quebrada. Cross the stream with care. This narrow strip just above sea level grew vines, potatoes and melons. In the middle of the 19th century the Spanish ship Algorta, carrying cotton, ran aground here, and the whole crew got ashore. The 1980 earthquake brought the rock down over the fajã; the directorate's record says that nothing is left of the fields or the houses except the well of a wine press.
• Fajã Vasco Martins, one of the largest and most remote fajãs on the island. The Ribeira das Airosas comes down into it as a waterfall over a pool, the Poço das Airoses, named after the freshwater eels that live in it. Seven springs rise across the fajã. Toledo families used to move down here for the winter. The houses are empty now, though some of the land is still farmed.

The way back is a narrow path straight up the cliff through native vegetation. At the top you rejoin the farm track, walk out to the regional road and turn left back to the chapel.

The leaflet rates the danger as medium, but the grade is hard for a reason: the stream crossing, the narrow cliff path and some 545 metres of ascent in one go. Skip it after heavy rain, and wear boots with real grip.

The official figures: 10.9 kilometres (the leaflet says 10.8), circular, graded medium, about three hours. It runs from about 451 metres at Norte Pequeno to sea level.

You start on the edge of the village and walk through it towards the sea, then take a dirt farm track to the left, past Azores heather and the village's water catchment. Where the slope is steepest the path zigzags down the cliff through heather, faya, pittosporum and ginger lily. You also pass yams, willows and New Zealand flax, which the villagers once cut to make cord and tools.

• Fajã do Mero, the first one you reach. Two streams run here all year, and the Sete Fontes spring rises here too. Most of the land belongs to Norte Pequeno families who come down to farm it.
• Fajã da Penedia. In the middle of the fajã a short detour to the left leads to the chapel of Santa Filomena, blessed on 27 May 1890, partly brought down by the 1980 earthquake and rebuilt since. There is also a fountain dated 1972. The chapel's feast is on the last Sunday of August, with Mass, a procession and an auction, and in recent years Holy Spirit soup for everyone who comes.
• Fajã das Pontas. At a fork east of Penedia, keep left and go down to a small fishing harbour with a few houses. The official trail notes call the shore here very appealing for a swim, so bring a towel in summer. There is no lifeguard, and you should only go in on a calm day.

From Pontas you walk back to the fork and take the Penedia road up to Norte Pequeno. That is the climb, and it comes at the end of the walk. At the village you can join the GR02SJO long-distance route, east to Fajã dos Cubres or west to Santo Amaro.

• Walk Norte Pequeno if you want the easier trail, a swim and a chapel, or if you are walking with older children.
• Walk Toledo if you are a confident hiker and want the emptier, more abandoned fajãs and the waterfall.
• Avoid both in fog, in rain or the day after a storm, when the cliff paths are slippery and stones can fall.

Both are on the official network, which means waymarks and numbered posts. In an emergency, call 112 and give the number of the last post you passed. On 28 October 2026 the alerts page of the Azores trails site listed neither trail as closed; on São Jorge only the Fajã d'Além circuit (PRC05SJO) was shut. Check the page again the day before you go.

Both trailheads are on São Jorge's north bus line, which runs between Velas and Calheta on weekdays. The operator's timetable, published in 2025 and still the one on its site in October 2026, is enough for either walk.

• To Toledo: the 07:25 from Velas reaches Toledo at 07:40. The bus back to Velas passes Toledo at 17:45.
• To Norte Pequeno: the same 07:25 from Velas reaches Norte Pequeno at 08:00. The bus back to Velas passes at 17:25.
• From Calheta: the 08:30 towards Velas stops at Norte Pequeno at 08:45 and Toledo at 09:10. The afternoon bus back to Calheta passes Toledo at 15:50 and Norte Pequeno at 16:15.

That leaves a long day for a three-hour walk, so you may prefer a taxi for one leg. On Saturdays there is one run each way, from Calheta to Velas in the morning and back at midday, so it only helps from the Calheta side: Toledo at 09:10, and back towards Calheta from Toledo at 13:25. The operator publishes no Sunday timetable. Check the times before you rely on them; fares are not published.

How long is the Fajãs do Toledo trail?

6.8 kilometres, circular, graded hard, about three hours. It drops from about 549 metres almost to sea level and climbs back up.

Can you swim on the Norte Pequeno trail?

Yes, at the small harbour of Fajã das Pontas, the lowest point of the walk. There is no lifeguard, so only on a calm day.

Why are the Toledo fajãs abandoned?

The earthquake of 1 January 1980 brought rock down on Fajã Rasa and destroyed its fields and houses, and an old stairway path to Manuel Teixeira was given up. Vasco Martins emptied more slowly; its houses are empty, though some of the land is still farmed.

Can you reach the trails by bus?

Yes, on weekdays. The north line from Velas stops in Toledo at 07:40 and Norte Pequeno at 08:00, and comes back in the late afternoon (2025 timetable).

• Trails of the Azores: PRC08SJO Fajãs do Toledo
• Trails of the Azores: PRC06SJO Norte Pequeno
• Trails of the Azores: alerts
• SIARAM: Fajã Vasco Martins
• SIARAM: Fajã Rasa
• SIARAM: Fajã Manuel Teixeira
• SIARAM: Fajã da Penedia
• SIARAM: Fajã do Mero
• Rumo à Natureza: São Jorge bus timetables