Crater lakes and viewpoints

A small lake in the high centre of Terceira, beside the entrance to the Gruta do Natal lava tube.

The lake lies on lava from the Santa Bárbara volcano, with a stand of cryptomeria on one side and the mountain and Pico Gaspar behind; the Gruta do Natal lava tube runs beneath it. It is an ephemeral lake whose level rises and falls with the rain. The Mistérios Negros trail (PRC01TER, 5.2 km, about 2.5 hours) starts here and crosses the domes left by the 1761 eruption.

• 551 m above sea level
• Parking
• 1 min walk

When to go: At around 550 m in the middle of the island it can be under low cloud or in drizzle, which suits the place but hides Santa Bárbara behind it. A live view or the forecast for the island's interior tells you whether the mountain will be visible.

Worth knowing: Park at the small car park by the lake, next to the Gruta do Natal visitor building; there are toilets. The lake shore is a minute away.

A small lake in a forest picnic park on the slopes of Santa Bárbara, also called Lagoa da Falca.

The lake is fed by a stream coming down from the Serra de Santa Bárbara and is ringed by tall cryptomeria planted by the forestry service; behind it lies a wide, flat peat bog. Along the stream grow native plants such as Azores juniper, Azores heather and faya. It is part of a forest recreation reserve beside the road to Doze Ribeiras.

• 514 m above sea level
• Parking
• 1 min walk

When to go: At over 500 m the park is known for fog, which can make the tall trees look good but hides everything beyond them. If you want the mountain above, check a live view; for a walk among the trees, a grey day is fine.

Worth knowing: The car park is next to the lake and the picnic area, with tables and toilets.

Two viewpoints on the Serra do Cume ridge, one over the patchwork fields of the island's interior and one over Praia da Vitória.

To the west lies the floor of an old caldera some 15 km across, divided into small fields by walls of black volcanic stone and hedges of hydrangea, the view Terceira calls its patchwork quilt. To the east you look over the bay and town of Praia da Vitória, the Lajes plain and the Lajes air base. The viewpoints were opened in 2008; the ridge was a military lookout in the Second World War, and its bunkers are still there.

• 545 m above sea level
• Parking
• At the car park

When to go: At 545 m the ridge is well below the island's highest ground, but low cloud still blows over it. If the viewpoint is in fog, check the forecast or a live view and come back later.

Worth knowing: The two viewpoints are about 400 m apart along the ridge road, each with its own small car park, so stop at both.

The viewpoint on the summit of Terceira, at 1,021 m on the rim of the Santa Bárbara volcano.

Next to the survey marker at the island's highest point, it looks over much of Terceira, into the crater with its sphagnum bogs and patches of laurel forest, and on clear days to the other islands of the central group. The access road climbs 5.5 km from the regional road between Doze Ribeiras and Pico da Bagacina; the summit also carries the island's main radio and television transmitters. The viewpoint dates from 1971 and was rebuilt in 2023.

• 1021 m above sea level
• Parking
• At the car park

When to go: The summit is in cloud on many days, and from inside it you see nothing. Check a live view or look up at the mountain before you start the climb, and if the top is hidden, come back another time.

Worth knowing: The last 340 m of road is closed to traffic, and you park at the arrival area at the top. From there two boardwalks lead out over the crater, 324 m to the south and 245 m to the north, with lookout points along both.

The viewpoint on Monte Brasil looking down on Angra do Heroísmo and along Terceira's south coast.

From one of the four peaks of the Monte Brasil peninsula you see the historic centre of Angra and its bay, the marina and Porto de Pipas, the coast east to the Ilhéus das Cabras and west to São Mateus, and the Serra de Santa Bárbara inland; on clear days São Jorge and Pico are on the horizon. On top stand a monument to the fifth centenary of the discovery of the Azores (1432–1932), a concrete column with the Cross of the Order of Christ, and anti-aircraft guns from the Second World War. There is also a picnic area with barbecues.

• 163 m above sea level
• Parking
• 2 min walk

When to go: At about 160 m it is usually below the cloud, so it works on most days. São Jorge and Pico only show on clear days with good visibility.

Worth knowing: A road climbs to the top; park at the small car park by the football pitch, a couple of minutes' walk below the viewpoint. The PRC04TER Monte Brasil trail (7.5 km, about 2.5 hours) passes here if you would rather walk up from the town.

A clifftop viewpoint on Terceira's north-west coast, above the sea at Raminho.

From 155 m you look along high cliffs dropping into the sea, with the fields of the north coast running along their top. The viewpoint was built in 1950, destroyed in the 1980 earthquake and rebuilt in 1994, as the tiled plaque at the edge records. A whale lookout (vigia) stands just to the west.

• 155 m above sea level
• Parking
• 1 min walk

When to go: Low and on the coast, it is clear more often than the high interior. If it is in fog, check a live view and come back later.

Worth knowing: There is parking with a picnic shelter right by the viewpoint, just off the regional road EN 1-1.

The hill above Praia da Vitória, looking down on the town, its beach and the bay.

From the top you see the whole sweep of the bay: the long town beach, the marina and the harbour, and the old centre of Praia da Vitória. The hilltop also has a monument to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

• 63 m above sea level
• Parking
• At the car park

When to go: At about 60 m it is rarely in cloud, so it works in most weather.

Worth knowing: You can drive to the top and park at the viewpoint itself. It is a short detour from the town centre and pairs well with Serra do Cume, which shows the same bay from higher up.