Mata do Canário to Sete Cidades, Blue and Green twin crater lakes; 6 miles, easy to moderate

Your tour of the Azores begins with a short welcome and orientation meeting at your seaside hotel; soon you are underway to the start of the day’s walk on the western end of São Miguel Island. A perfect introduction to the geology and landscape of the Azores, today’s walk follows the ridge of an extinct volcano, with a lake at its center that over time transformed into two lakes, the “Lagoa Azul” and the “Lagoa Verde”—the Blue and Green lakes, respectively. The trail begins at a high point with sweeping views to the north side of the island and the wide open Atlantic, near the ruins of an aqueduct known as the Muro das Nove Janelas (the “nine windows wall”). The well-packed dirt road enters a quiet fir forest with an ascent that is at first gradual, then steepens at the end (total climb of approximately 25 minutes), bringing you to the highest point of the day’s walk, with views that are absolutely worth the effort. Soaring above on thermals are the ubiquitous European Common Buzzards, a mid-sized raptor that the first sailors to the Azores mistook for goshawks, in Portuguese “açores,” thought to be the origin of the archipelago’s name.

From the northern rim of the Sete Cidades volcano you have your first views of the Blue Lake below, and to the island’s north shore; the wide dirt road continues, magnificent ocean views unfolding, gradually descending through high pasture and hedgerows formed by tall Azorean heather bushes, banks of ginger lily, and hydrangea. A welcome picnic awaits and may include such specialties as local ham and cheese on soft “bolo levedo” bread, chorizo and blood sausage, fresh pineapple grown on the island, and a delicate tart, red bean or coconut, for dessert.

Satiated, you round the lake along the west, the road descends through forest of Japanese cedar interspersed with smaller fields where cows may be grazing near a farmhouse. A short jeep transfer is provided down into the small village of Sete Cidades, where neat stucco and stone homes and small farms are nestled along the lake. After a refreshing drink at the local café and perhaps a glimpse inside the Church of São Nicolau, you return to the hotel via the southern coast. At your resort hotel, there is time to relax by its inviting pool or on your terrace overlooking the ocean before gathering for a welcome drink and meeting. Dinner this evening is in the traditional town of Ribeirinha where you are welcomed at a favorite local restaurant, with a platter of mixed appetizers such as local cheeses, delicately flavored lupine beans, and freshly grilled calamari salad. For the main dish,perhaps a savory stew of octopus in wine or roasted fresh fish.

Ribeira do Faial da Terra to Faial da Terra; 5 miles, easy to moderate (with a steep descent along a cobbled road and several wooden bridge crossings)

You awaken to a beautiful ocean view and a copious buffet breakfast of fruit salad, freshly baked breads and pastries, eggs, ham, cheese, delicious Azorean yogurt, coffee or tea. Today’s walk takes you farther east along São Miguel island to a trailhead beyond the port town of Povoação. You set off down a forested dirt path with some roots and rocks, alternating between forests of Japanese red cedar and Victorian boxwood and patches of open pasture, following a brook closely almost for the entire walk. The eastern end of the island is where the rare Azorean bullfinch can be found, one of Europe’s most endangered birds. (It is highly unlikely that it would be spotted during our walk.) After descending along the path and some stairs and emerging at the ruins of a watermill in a clearing, you veer to the right through tall stands of fir over a wooden bridge. In places the forest opens up with views below to the coastal village of Faial da Terra, your final destination, a lovely juxtaposition of forest and ocean scenery. A little over halfway is the dramatic “Salto do Prego” waterfall, the perfect spot to savor a picnic lunch of sandwiches and fresh island fruits, such as pineapple and tiny but flavorful bananas. After admiring the beauty of the falls, and perhaps taking a refreshing dip in the cold waters, you continue along a dirt trail through acacia and cheesewood. A traverse brings you to the tiny hamlet of Sanguinho, named after the red-berried endemic plant in the vicinity and currently being restored as a rural agritourism project. A steep and sustained cobbled switchback road descends to the main road and the village built along the widened brook, where you stop for a refreshment at a typical local bar.

Late afternoon, you drive through the mesmerizing scenery of green pastures and hydrangea-lined roads to your hotel. You may opt for a swim in the hotel’s pool before preparing for an evening in Ponta Delgada, the island’s largest city. A brief walking tour of the city’s main attractions culminates at a waterfront restaurant. This evening’s meal is a special dining experience perhaps featuring a grilled pork tenderloin or roasted codfish with savory red pepper sauce, and tempted by local pineapple pudding cake or another traditional dessert.

Furnas Lake and Terra Nostra Park; 6 miles, easy to moderate, 300-ft elevation gain

Today is devoted to exploring the area in and around the Lagoa das Furnas, Furnas Lake, also of volcanic origin; “furnas” meaning the caverns created by a 17th-century volcanic eruption. A spa resort since the 19th century, the volcanic activity is evident in the many geysers and fumaroles in and around the town of the same name.

Your walk begins just outside the entrance of Terra Nostra Park, a meticulous 30-acre botanical garden first created in the late 18th-century by the American Vice Consul to the Azores, Thomas Hickling, and site of his home, “Yankee Hall.” Climbing along a lane past local houses you enter a landscape of rolling fields and pastures, framed by steep escarpments. From a small wooded ridge, the trail descends to the northern shore of Furnas Lake; you stop to examine the mud and hot water springs (fumaroles), called “caldeiras” along the route. Islanders have used these holes for generations to prepare “cozido das furnas,” a hot-pot stew of mixed meats and vegetables steamed for several hours in the hot volcanic sands.

Continuing across a shallow stream, you trace a track through a dense bamboo grove and join a gravel road around the southern shore of the lake. You pass old villas surrounded by gardens, Norfolk pines, and fern and dragon trees. Leaving the lake behind, you pass through a lush valley as you approach the picturesque village of Furnas. A lunch of the traditional dish of cozido awaits your arrival.

Afterward you may wish to join your guide on a tour of Terra Nostra Park. The centerpiece of the exquisite collection of camellias, azaleas, endemic plants, and giant ferns linked by tranquil paths and mossy-sided canals, is a naturally heated thermal swimming pool. (For those guests who care to bathe in the soothing sulphur pool, please be sure you bring an old bathing suit as the water may stain it red.) In the late afternoon you return to your hotel to relax before enjoying a buffet dinner served in the panoramic dining room of the hotel.

Flight to Pico Island. Caminhos de Santa Luzia; Maragaia to Lajido; 4 miles, easy to moderate. Lajes de Pico exploration

A full day of travel and exploration awaits as you travel from the island of São Miguel to the Azores’ “Central Group” of islands, named for their central location in the archipelago that stretches almost 400 miles into the Atlantic. A morning flight takes you to the island of Pico, where a full walk is on the itinerary; and in late afternoon, you have time to relax before exploring the town of Lajes de Pico.

Upon arrival in Pico, a short drive brings you directly to the trailhead in the village of Santa Luzia for a walk down through the UNESCO-preserved vineyards to the coastal village of Lajido, best known for the fortified wine, verdelho, similar to white port, that was a favorite of the Russian tsars. The vineyards of Pico are simply amazing—enclosed in thousands of stone walls that the islanders painstakingly constructed out of the black volcanic basaltic rock, to clear, in some cases, a kitchen-table-sized space to grow and protect their precious vines. The route descends through acres of these enclosures along an old cart road leading to the wine-making buildings and cellars on the water, known as “adegas,” which here in Lajido compose a wine-making museum. You then continue along the coast past many private adegas and small homes also traditionally constructed from the black rock. A final steep climb along a paved road reunites you with your minibus. A short transfer brings you to a private adega for a lunch of fresh bread, linguiça and chorizo sausage, exquisite Pico cheese, and of course, a taste of the homemade wine.

Mid-afternoon, you check into your hotel with time to enjoy its saltwater pool or refresh before traveling to the southern shore of the island to the town of Lajes do Pico, where you stroll and enjoy this picturesque port and learn about the importance of whaling to the Azores. The site of the first settlement on Pico as early as 1460, Lajes became the most important whaling center in the islands through the 19th and into the 20th century. Whaling, which was brought to the Azores from the American Nantucket whalers, was most developed on Pico because farming conditions were more arduous than on other islands. The excellent Whalers’ Museum here, architecturally designed from three original nineteenth-century boathouses, is dedicated to the history, methods, and art of whaling, including boatbuilding and scrimshaw.

You venture on to São Roque for dinner tonight at an excellent restaurant to enjoy a meal of perhaps traditional kale soup, followed by lamb, fish, or pork roasted in the wood-fired oven, delicately flavored, and accompanied by refreshing local wines.

Caminho dos Burros; 5 miles, easy to moderate, 2,000-ft gradual elevation loss

Today’s walking route, the “donkeys’ trail” or “Caminhos dos Burros” takes you high on the central plateau of the island in a preserved natural area, starting out flat through a moor-like landscape of springy grass, low vegetation, and some stepping stones. As its name implies, the trail was used by islanders to transport goods between the interior and the coast. Continuing northeast, you begin a sustained descent, mostly gradual, although short and steep in a few places. The track follows the ancient stone walls lined with taller trees and shrubs as you descend, you may see Common Chaffinch flitting among the Azorean heather and buckthorn. Reaching a wider dirt road, a series of easy switchbacks and a brief passage through a forest of acacia, laurel, and Australian cheesewood emerges on a tar road. A short stretch brings you to the Prainha Forest Park, a meticulous public park and picnic area where a delicious spread may include a variety of sandwiches on fresh-baked bread, fruit, and delectable pastries from an excellent bakery. After lunch, and time permitting, you continue the descent to the Baía das Canas, emerging through a walled and cobbled old donkey path onto a lovely little beach of black volcanic stones.

Specialties for tonight’s dinner may include mouthwatering fish soups and “lapas grelhadas” (grilled limpets) as well as seafood cataplana (named for the clam shaped pan in which it is prepared).

Crater of Capelinhos; 5 miles, easy to moderate. Visit to Capelinhos Volcano or Horta exploration

This morning you board the local ferry for the 15-minute crossing to Faial Island. Upon arrival in Faial’s largest town of Horta (and weather conditions permitting), you immediately drive to the Caldeira Natural Reserve, the extinct volcanic crater at the center of the island, also designated a “Site of Community Importance and a Special Protection Zone.” Here, you begin a loop walk along the crater’s rim. This scenic ridge walk starts and ends at the “Miradouro da Caldeira” scenic viewpoint. Gently undulating, the terrain varies from springy grass to some loose rocks and gravel. Throughout the walk you are rewarded with views of the fields and forests of Faial, open ocean, and dramatically, Pico Mountain, Pico Island’s main conical, volcanic peak, the highest in Portugal at 7,715 feet. You enjoy a packed lunch on the trail before returning to your private coach.

The afternoon offers two options. First, an independent exploration of Horta, a favorite stopping point for sailors making the transatlantic crossing. A legendary sailor’s watering hole is Peter Cafe Sport—known for its excellent gin and tonics—overlooking the main harbor where crew members from sailboats paint small murals on the sidewalk to commemorate their travels. You might also opt for a visit to the Scrimshaw Museum. Or, join your guide at the Capelinhos Interpretation Center, an ultramodern underground museum dedicated to the 1957 eruption of the Capelinhos Volcano. Islanders who worked as “whale spotters” or “vigias” were alarmed to see spouting and steaming activity in the water just off shore, and they quickly warned the nearby lighthouse keeper. From late September 1957 to late October 1958, volcanic activity resulted in enormous steam, ash, and basaltic deposits, creating an entirely new part of the island of Faial. Evacuations avoided any loss of life, but many houses and structures were buried under the ash and remain so to this day. Late afternoon you have time to relax and take in the spectacular views at your hotel before a celebratory farewell dinner where you toast your discovery of these gem-like islands.

Transfer to Horta airport for flight to Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island. Departure from Ponta Delgada airport

After breakfast you transfer to the Horta airport for a flight to São Miguel Island. An early lunch is included in Ponta Delgada before you bid “Adeus” to your traveling companions and the Azores.