Part four of my blog series about the Azores. My favorite island I visited: Flores.
Earlier, I told you in this blog about travelling to the Azores, here about the island Terceira and here about the island Corvo.
The lakes and waterfalls of Flores
Flores is most known for its lakes an waterfall and if you visit them, you totally will understand why!
We visited all the bigger lakes, but we were not WOW-ed by the lakes Seca and da Lomba and Branca was dried up during our visit in September.
So I will skip those in thi blog, but the rest is totally worth a visit, I promise!
Lagao Negra en Lagao Comprida
Let’s start with a picture, because…… Well you’ll see:
The lakes Negra and Comprida are green and black and next to eachother. Did you ever saw such a beautiful natural phenomenon somwhere?
Lagao Rasa and Lagao Funda
The lakes Rasa and Funda are also next to each other, but on different levels. We didn’t saw them at first because of fog. But luckily the day we left Flores the sky was clear. So we skipped our breakfast to see this beautiful view:
To see this view, don’t go to the lakes themselves. See the map below for thi spot. It is not an official view point and there are no parking lots. We parked our car on the roadside. Be careful of passing cars, you can’t see them very well because of the winding road.
The red arrow in the map below is the place where the picture above was taken.
Poço Ribeira do Ferreiro
The last lake we visited, is the one you can’t skip! Not because of the lake but because of the background. The lake is called Lagoa dos Patos. And actually I tell this more as a transition to the falls. Because waterfalls are in the background. Several waterfalls falling down a green wall.
In my opinion the most beautiful place in Flores!
“The wall” is called Poço Ribeira do Ferreiro.
You can’t get to this view by car. To get there, you must hike a short, steep and sometimes slippery path. But it is so worth it!
(But I don’t think I need to persuede you after seeing the picture above, did I?)
Bring your lunch and enjoy the view!
You can’t find anything like this anywhere else I guess…
I you can’t hike to the wall, there is a possibility to view this wall from the road of different viewing points. But, I repeat, if you can, hike!
Poço do Bacalhau
Another waterfall worth a visit is Poço do Bacalhau. It’s close to Poço Ribeira do Ferreiro. We took a (very cold and refreshing) dip.
Alagoa
On the other side of the Island is another waterfall. These is at the coast close to campsite Alagoa. If you walk by the campsite to the beach, the waterfall is at your left. You have to climb around a rock first. Please be aware of the tide. With high tide you can only swim around the rock.
The waterfall was not that beautifull, but the rocks in the water were!
To get to this place, you need to look out for a sign “camping Alagoa”. This is a sign for pedestrians. With a car you need to take the next road on the right.
Just wanna inform you that it’s really steep and hard to drive up after your visit.
There are parking lots down the road and when you face towards the see you need to walk to the right. It’s a short and easy walk down to the (rocky) beach.
Aldeia da Cuada
Aldeia da Cuada is an old village that was a ghost town after the residents emigrated to America. The cottages are restored and are rented out as holiday homes now. Everyone who does not stay there is also welcome to come and have a look in this village.
To take into account further on Flores
If you search for the lakes on google, they can be found as “Lagoa” somtimes and at other times as “Caldeira”. (also on Google Maps.).
Three seasons in a day, it is no joke! Sometimes even in an hour. But after a heavy rain shower you can walk in the hot sun again 10 minutes later. So you don’t have to bring thick clothing, but make sure you bring a raincoat. Preferably breathable, because of the warmer temperature.
Flores is not that big, but too big for walking. To have as much freedom of movement as possible, we do recommend renting a rental car.
We visited some places twice. Because of bad weather the first time. Luckily a second visit is easily planned with the small distances at this island.
Wanna know more about the Azores?
Please read my other blogs:
General information for planning a trip to the Azores
The island Terceira
The island Corvo
The island São Miguel