The Trail of Ten Volcanoes

On the island of Faial in the Azores archipelago is a distinctive hike from the top of the island to the bottom called the Trail of Ten Volcanoes.  The Azores, a volcanic island chain in the Atlantic Ocean is a semi-autonomous part of Portugal.  I was staying in the primary city of the island at an Air BnB called Banana Manor.  There was one other guest at the time, a young guy from Stuttgart named Mo who was also interested in this hike so we teamed up on a cab to the trailhead and spent the day together on an excellent hike.

Azores location

I was coming to Faial from Santa Maria island where I had done a multi-day trek on the Grand Route of Santa Maria (read the story of the trek here).  I also hiked on Sao Miguel and Pico Islands during the visit to the Azores, and I would love to go back and hike more of the islands for sure.  For this day though, it was Faial and a spectacular hike that went up, down, and around a chain of ten volcanoes from the highest mountain on the island down nearly to sea level.

Click anywhere on the image for an interactive route map

Mo and I called a taxi for pick-up and we were promptly picked up by Tony, an amusing and talkative driver who became or regular driver while on Faial.  Like many people of the Azores that I encountered, Tony spoke pretty good English and he keeps good track of what is going on in the world.  It was about a half-hour drive from the port town of Horta up-and-up to where the road ends just below the rim of the volcano mountain called Caldeira.  As we were ascending into a cloud that was nearly obscuring the mountain-top I thought I heard Tony say, “there is flamingos.”   It turned out not to be pink birds though, but instead the community of Flamengos.  Flamengos refers to Flemish (Belgian) people who were early settlers in this area.   Before we knew it, we were dropped off at the trailhead and we arranged to call Tony for a ride when we finished the hike.

 

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Farms in the area of Flamengos were shrouded in a cloud
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Montanha do Pico on the nearby island of Pico

 

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At the trailhead on the rim of Caldeira

The total route of the Trail of Ten Volcanoes is about 12 miles (20 km) and starts at 3000 feet (918 m) altitude. The descent drops to the lighthouse and museum at Capolinhos which are nearly at sea level. It isn’t all downhill, though. There are a bunch of volcanos in the way so there is a good bit of up and down. My GPS measured about 1500 feet (450 m) of climbs with grades up to 5%. I wouldn’t call this a beginner’s hike.

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Breaking over the rim of Caldeira there is a spectacular view down into the cone.  Rim-to-rim must be two-thirds of a mile in diameter.  It is so big that I cannot capture a complete view even with a wide-angle lens.   A small cone rises out of the floor of the caldera where there are also small lakes.  Our route traverse part way around the rim for about 2.5 miles (4 km) before beginning a descent down a volcanic ridge to the West.  There is still a scattering of clouds although the sun is beginning to burn them off.

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view from the rim toward the ocean to the North

 

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clouds reflected in one of the lakes

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the route is well marked with red and yellow markers — this sign marks the beginning of the descent from the rim

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A section of the route called Levada (aquaduct) follows an old water supply channel in a thick stand of cedar and juniper. As I understand it, the function of this levada was interrupted by an earthquake in the late 1990’s.

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occasional breaks in the thick vegetation afford views of the volcanos to come and the ocean

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an old water tank — part of the levada system

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many areas had steep steps — both up and down — the height of some of the steps seemed to be made for giants

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The route passes through the Capelo Forest Park, an area of thick forest and some interesting old structures. It looks like a fine place for a picnic. Leaving the park we started climbing the slope of yet another volcano.

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Crater and cave

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The last volcano we approached is called Capelinhos. It is notable as the most recently formed volcano in the Azores and it can be considered the farthest West point in Europe. Here is a description from Wikipedia: “the volcanic eruption (partially submarine) lasted for 13 months, from September 27, 1957 until October 24, 1958. While enlarging the island by 2.4 km², it spawned 300 seismic events, hurled ash 1 km, destroyed 300 houses in the parishes of Capelo and Praia do Norte and caused the evacuation of 2,000 people – many to the U.S. and Canada.”

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The hike up to the crest of Capelinhos

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There is an old lighthouse at Capelinhos that was rendered useless by the eruptions. When at Capelinhos you are standing on some of the youngest land in the world. At this site is also a visitor center and museum that tell the story of the volcano. After looking around a bit, Mo called Tony and after a quick ride back to Horta along the coast it was time for a well-deserved beer.

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from the crest of Capelinhos

4 responses to “The Trail of Ten Volcanoes”

  1. Allison Conboy Avatar
    Allison Conboy

    Sounds great, Can you recommend any other great hikes for a vacation in the Azores?
    Thanks

    1. Kevin Holsapple Avatar
      Kevin Holsapple

      You’ll find a number of other stories about hikes in the Azores at https://primepassages.com/tag/azores — let me know if you cannot find these.

  2. Dianshan Avatar
    Dianshan

    Hi! How long did it take you guys to finish the hike? Are the markers easy to follow through?
    And how much did the taxi cost to take you there and back?

    1. Kevin Holsapple Avatar
      Kevin Holsapple

      I think it took us about 5 or six hours but we stopped and fooled around a good bit. The markers are reasonably good although not the best I’ve experienced. I made good use of smartphone map app. I don’t recollect cab fare for sure but it seems like it was under $20 total and we split it between us. Hope you have a good chance to try it out — great hike!

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