Azores hiking trails are gaining popularity with visitors and locals alike

Friday, 06 August 2010 00:00

There are 60 hiking trails across the Azores archipelago. On the whole, hikers around the Azores are happy with the trails and not put off by the changeable weather.  "Very nice landscape, very nice nature here, We come especially for the nature and to make walking tours here in São Miguel", said a Dutch visitor. For others, the absence of touristic pressure common to many island destinations is what keeps them coming back.

"We like the Azorean welcome and there are few tourists, especially in the islands of the Central group", said a French visitor.

"We were worried there would be too many tourists in São Miguel but there seems a nice balance", added his wife.

This week, a group of environmentalists from the Canary Islands travelled to São Miguel, Faial and Pico to assess the state of the trails.  Their visit, which was part of a reciprocal agreement between various environmental associations in Macaronesia and locally-based Friends of the Azores, will end at the top of Pico mountain.