Best of São Miguel Island

Home to black sand beaches, volcanic craters and topaz lakes, São Miguel is an enchanting destination for outdoor adventures in the Azores. Dozens of hiking trails course over the lush hillsides and skirt the pristine coastline of this Azorean island — the largest in the archipelago. There’s also fabulous biking, sea kayaking and canyoning. When you need a break from adrenaline-fueled activities, you can take a scenic drive to immerse yourself in the lush landscape (it’s not called ilha verde, or “green island” for nothing). You can also go whale watching, visit historic sites of Ponta Delgada, or simply relax in steamy hot springs after a day of adventure. 

There’s much to experience on São Miguel, and you’ll need four or five days to make the most of your stay. You can’t leave the island without visiting the region surrounding Sete Cidades, with stunning blue and green lakes and magnificent viewpoints over the ancient caldera. Previous kimkim travelers have also hiked or biked the Cumeeiras Trail, São Miguel’s most dramatic trail, with stunning views along the crater rim. The Furnas Valley is another of the island’s wonders, and home to a volcanic caldera and geothermal spots of gurgling mudpots and steaming fumaroles. The valley also hides a 19th-century chapel, a forest-fringed waterfall and mineral-rich thermal pools. For something completely different, take a subterranean journey into the intriguing Gruta do Carvão, a lava tube that was formed over 5000 years ago.