Serreta and Terceira's west coast: Ponta do Queimado, the Mata da Serreta and the Raminho viewpoint

Serreta is the parish at the far western end of Terceira. It had 335 inhabitants at the 2011 census, a pilgrimage church, an old forest park and the island's westernmost cape. Most visitors come for the sunset from the lighthouse at Ponta do Queimado or a picnic under the trees of the Mata da Serreta, and the two together make a half day by car, or a full day if you walk between them. This guide covers what is there, how to fit it together, and which trails were open when we checked in October 2026.

You need a car, or a taxi for the day. From Angra do Heroísmo the drive along the south coast to Serreta takes about 30 minutes. From the north, Biscoitos to Altares is 5 minutes, Altares to Raminho 10, and Raminho to Serreta another 10. The bus company EVT runs a route from Biscoitos to Angra through Serreta (route 1), but times change and the evt.pt site was down when we checked, so confirm the timetable locally before you plan around it.

There is nothing to buy at the cape. Bring water and something to eat, and fill up with fuel before you leave Angra or Praia da Vitória.

Ponta do Queimado is the westernmost point of Terceira. A paved road, built in 1968, leaves the coast road and drops to the lighthouse, and today it continues past it to a viewpoint lower down. Park by the light and walk the last few hundred metres.

The lighthouse first shone on 4 November 1908. The earthquake of 1 January 1980 cracked the original masonry tower, and plans to repair it were dropped in 1982 as too expensive. A metal tower brought from Cacilhas stood in for it until 2004, when the present 14 m fibreglass tower, white with red bands, replaced it. Its light sits 100 m above the sea and flashes white every six seconds, with a range of 12 nautical miles. The light is automated, and we found no visits to the tower itself; you come for the cliffs and the view.

On a clear day Graciosa, São Jorge and Pico are on the horizon. Cory's shearwaters nest on the cliffs below. The cape faces west with nothing in the way, which is why it has the best sunset on the island. In 2026 the sun sets around 19:30 in early October and about 19:00 by 24 October. The clocks go back on 25 October, and from then until December it sets between about 18:00 and 17:30. Arrive half an hour before.

The cape is open to the wind from every side. Take a jacket even in August, hold on to small children, and stay well back from the cliff edge.

The Mata da Serreta is a forest reserve and recreation park on the slope above the village. It was classified as a Reserva Florestal de Recreio by regional decree 16/89/A of 30 August 1989. The ground is steep and stony, and rough paths wind between eucalyptus, pines, tree ferns and New Zealand Christmas trees (Metrosideros) to small clearings with tables.

The park has picnic tables, barbecue grills, a children's play area, toilets and covered shelters. Its best-known feature is a carved stone fountain (chafariz) that came from the cloister of the Convento da Graça in Angra. Entry is free.

It is a good lunch stop between the lighthouse and the village, and a better one on a hot day than the open cape. Expect it to be crowded during the September festival (see below).

The parish church, the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres, stands on the square. Devotion to the image began at the end of the 17th century with a small chapel; the present church was built in the 19th century and repaired after the 1980 earthquake. Its main altarpiece was restored over about 27 months and finished before the 2026 festival. Look inside if the door is open. The village centre also has a brightly painted império, one of the Holy Spirit chapels you find all over the island.

The village once had a hotel, the Estalagem da Serreta, which put up the French president Georges Pompidou in December 1971 for his meeting with Richard Nixon in the Azores. It closed in the 1980s.

The Festa de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres is the biggest event of the year in Serreta. In 2026 it ran from 4 to 15 September, with the main day on Sunday 13 September (feast Mass at 16:00 and procession at 17:30). The diocese expected about 12,000 pilgrims, many of whom walk there from elsewhere on the island. The Monday after the main Sunday, the Segunda-feira da Serreta, is a traditional day out: public employees on Terceira are usually given the day off, and families picnic in the Mata. The sanctuary stayed open day and night from Friday 11 to Monday 14 September.

If you are on the island in the second week of September, go and see it. If you only want the cape and a quiet picnic, avoid that weekend: the roads around the village fill up.

Coming from Biscoitos, stop at the Raminho viewpoint just past the village of Raminho. It sits on the cliffs of the north-west coast and looks back east along the north shore towards Biscoitos, with Graciosa and São Jorge out to sea on a clear day. Parking is a free pull-in beside the road.

Two official trails reach Serreta. Check trails.visitazores.com the day before, because closures are posted there at short notice.

• Grande Rota do Oeste (GR01TER), stage 2, Pico Negrão to the Mata da Serreta: 9.3 km, about 3 hours, linear. This is the lowest stage of the route, and it passes almost everything in this guide. It drops through Metrosideros woods and old vineyard enclosures (curraletas) to the lighthouse and viewpoint, follows the cliffs where shearwaters nest, passes a small chapel and an old whale lookout, reaches the Raminho viewpoint and ends at the picnic area in the Mata. On 6 October 2026 stage 2 carried no closure notice. Stage 1, from Lagoa das Patas to Pico Negrão, was marked closed. Because the walk is linear, arrange a taxi back to your car.
• Serreta (PRC03TER): a 6.6 km circuit, about 2 hours 30 minutes, graded medium, from the Canada da Fonte crossroads up to the Lagoinha, a small lake in a cedar wood on the flank of Serra de Santa Bárbara. On 6 October 2026 its official page marked it "closed trail". Do not walk it until that notice is gone.

From Angra, drive west along the south coast in the early afternoon. Walk or picnic in the Mata da Serreta, look into the sanctuary, then continue north to the Raminho viewpoint and come back to Ponta do Queimado for the sunset. Drive back to Angra in about 30 minutes. If you are staying on the north coast, do it the other way round: Biscoitos, Raminho, the Mata, and the cape last.

Is Ponta do Queimado free?

Yes. The cape, the viewpoint and parking by the lighthouse are free, and so is the Mata da Serreta.

Can you walk to Ponta do Queimado?

Yes. Stage 2 of the Grande Rota do Oeste (9.3 km, about 3 hours) passes the lighthouse on its way from Pico Negrão to the Mata da Serreta. It had no closure notice on 6 October 2026.

How long do you need?

About an hour at the cape, an hour or two in the Mata, and 30 minutes' drive each way from Angra. A half day covers it.

When is the Serreta festival?

Around the second Sunday of September. In 2026 the main day was 13 September; check the parish or igrejaacores.pt for the next year's dates.