Summer 2022 - Azores Islands
Many people have never heard of the Azores. While this is one of the most beautiful tropical destinations in Europe. The Azores had been on my wishlist for a long time and summer 2022 was finally the moment to go there.
Although there are really many beautiful islands, I decided to limit our visit to two: São Miguel and Terceira. São Miguel is a destination with a lot of hot spots, including many waterfalls! We start our journey on São Miguel in the capital Ponta Delgado, a perfect base to discover the island. Our apartment, just outside the city, was super luxurious and in no time we were on the main road. I never imagined that São Miguel would have such a modern road network. The most beautiful waterfalls are located east of Ponta Delgado. I won't list them all but even the smallest waterfalls were of great beauty and usually perfect for swimming. Unfortunately we also encountered waterfalls without water...like the big Salto da Farinha.
Waterfalls in the Azores are perfect for swimming, so always bring your swimsuit! The second day on Sao Miguel we really went out to visit waterfalls. - small waterfall at the hot springs of Caldeira Velha - Cascata das Lombadas (not accessible by foot) - Cascata do Salto do Cabrito (magnificent) The next day we went to Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeirões where there are several beautiful waterfalls. These are free to visit and highly recommended!
The following days we (I think) went to the most beautiful waterfalls on the island: - Salto do Rosal at Furnas (photogenic) - Cascata da Ribeira Quente (perhaps it couldn't be more beautiful) On the way back we felt like swimming and chose an unknown small waterfall at Água D'Alto, Cascata do Segredo (wow). To me, this is heaven.