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Faial Island, Azores
Enjoy discovering Faial Island in the Azores archipelago, Portugal
Faial Island, Azores
© Turismo Azores
Faial Island, also known as the Blue Island, has an area of 173.1 square kilometers. It has an approximate census of about 15,000 inhabitants, mostly concentrated in Horta, the capital.
Faial Island
© Publiçor
In Faial, you will find a lot of activity around the marina, which is renowned internationally. It is considered a bad omen when you leave the port without having a chart memory, so its banks are packed with striking paintings.
Pico Island from Faial Island
© Gustav
Horta, Faial Island, Azores
© Gustav
One of the most beautiful parts of the landscape is the western side of the island, which has the Caldeira Grande and the sea, the Pontas dos Capelinhos and Varadouro, both declared by the EU as Sites of Community Interest.
Near the city are the beautiful beaches of Almoxarife and Porto Pim. Porto Pim was immortalized in a famous novel by Antonio Tabucchi.
One of the most striking things about the island is that its fields are full of hydrangeas which bring color and life to the landscape.
The island has 10 rural parishes which you can easily see in one day. It is advisable to spend another full day just in Horta to visit its port, lookouts, its three museums and the church. Also, it would be advisable to do some interesting activities such as whale watching but you will need to extend your stay on the island at least for another day.
The best way to fully explore the island is to start by visiting the interior. You can start from the Hora or from the viewpoint of Concieção. At about 3 km, you will find the parish of Flamengos, with the Botanical Garden of Faial.
About 2 kilometers from Flamengos, you will find the Chapel of São João and its crenellated tower with a conical top. It is nestled between the massifs of hydrangeas. At this point, you can begin the ascent to Caldeira Grande and the viewpoint from which you can see the whole Pico Island. You can return to the ER 1-2º way which leads directly to Concienção and continues to Almoxarife Beach.
If you continue north, you will see the productive agriculture and livestock industries with many cornfields and pasture areas. Shortly afterwards, you will come to Pedro Miguel where an branch to the Botanical Garden of Faial has been established. Also, you can visit the town of Riberinha. This town has a Gothic temple and a nice pier with a lighthouse.
In the northern part of the island is Cedros. Cedros has amazing cliffs up to 300 meters and several viewpoints from where you can see unique landscapes.
In the western part of Faial is the beautiful town of Capelo, important because its ornate church and his outstanding craft school. If you continue south along the coast, you will get to Varadouro. Varadouro is a residential area with a pier and several natural pools which are born around a hot spring; and Castelo Branco.
From Castelo Branco you can revert back to Horta. This part of the island has no interest, except for the coastal caves which can only be accessed by sea.
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