Waterfall

Hiking in Flores

Flores, in the Azores, has gorgeous sceneries and a vast network of trails that you can venture around. The landscape reminds me of a mix between Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings. Everything is lush and green, but the ferns make it feel a little Cretaceous. The islands range in age from 8,120,000 years old (Santa Maria) to 270,000 years old (Pico) , but the landscape could easily make you feel as if you were 100,000,000 years ago, when flowering plants were really beginning to diversify!

The landscape seems like a goats playground, everything is vertical and rocky with very little mud around, as all the dirt is carefully held in roots, while the red mud-looking surface is actually red volcanic rock! Hiking here is fun for a while, but then you get tired! Up and down, then through a stream and up again! If only there was an easier way to see these natural splendors without all that walking? 

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There is! Most of the long trails flank the roads of the island. You can easily drive to the gorgeous landmark, see its beauty and then hike a little on the trail that would have gotten you there. 

Maddie and I did this a lot! Some of the trails are rediculously long and would take up your whole day, just to see one magnificent waterfall. For example, one trail is 7km long, one way! It usually takes people 3.5 hours going (it’s uphill) and 2.5 hours to return (it’s downhill). This means that 6 hours of your day have been consumed to see this one trail which, honestly doesn’t take you to that beautiful of a place! If you had hiked that trail, you would not have had time to see the other waterfalls on the island that day.

If hiking is your thing, you will probably be able to hike all the trails on the island in a week. If hiking is not your thing, or you are not in the greatest of shape, then it will take much longer than a week to hike all of it! This is where driving to the end comes into play, you hop out of the car and hike the last bit to the beautiful waterfall, then off you go to the next spot! This might feel like cheating, but most of the waterfalls are about 500 meters away from the end of the road, so you will still hike about a kilometer for each feature.  

Take your time and explore the Azores at your own pace. If you want to hike, you certainly will find yourself in a playground. If you don’t fancy yourself a hiker, you can still see the wonderful views with the aid of your vehicle (and a little walking). 

When to Visit the Azores?

The Azores are a small chain of islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Their closest point of land is Portugal, and therefore they are Portuguese colonies.  

These islands are characterized by their wild and untouched beauty, though each island is completely different from the next. 

In Flores, one of the two Western-most islands, the typical tourist season is the summer (or dry season) as they refer to it here. This is simply because it is less rainy and you are probably going to have a better chance at great weather than if you tried in the winter (or rainy season) as they refer to it here. 

Flores is one of the islands that gets the most rainfall in all of the Azores, and as a result, also has some of the most lush vegetation and populous waterfalls. 

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   If you want to go hiking, the best time to visit would be the summer months, as you will have less rainy days and excellent hiking weather. If you like waterfalls, you might be disappointed! 

The waterfalls depend on rain in the center of the island to cause the rivers to flow down and off the cliffs. If it has been very dry, the waterfalls will dry up and you won’t get to see them! 

If you are more interested in seeing majestic waterfalls at every turn you make, I would suggest visiting the Azores in the winter!  

During the winter, you will be in the “off-season” so you will have the ability to enjoy the waterfalls in absolute peace and tranquility. You will be the only person standing before the natural wonder and can sit on a stump to reflect upon whatever comes to mind. 

To make booking your adventures easier, visit TravelGnu to find the best deal on hotels and car rentals! 

Heart Shaped Falls

One of the waterfalls on Flores had two falls that became one. As they cascaded down the cliff face, the white foaming water somewhat resembles a heart! 

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Do you see it?  

The tip of the heart then pours its contents into the lake below which shortly thereafter drains into the ocean. 

Being so close to the beauty of nature makes you feel so removed from all the excuses that people list as to why they are unhappy. Happiness doesn’t come from material posessions; no, it comes from experiences! 

Poço Ribeiras do Ferreiro, Again!

These waterfalls are considered to be the most gorgeous waterfalls in all of the Azores, and there are a lot of waterfalls on these islands! 

A few days ago, we saw them for the first time and were in awe at their beauty. Today, the weather was clearer and bits of blue sky were poking through the clouds. We decided to see them again, in the morning sunlight. 

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Sometimes, when you see something amazing and then go away, your mind can manipulate your memory and exaggerate what you thought you saw. Upon returning to see it again, you might become disappointed because it is a far cry from what you thought was there. Reality can hurt like that sometimes. 

These falls did not disappoint! It had been a few days since we last saw them and they were, honestly, more spectacular the second time around! Instead of filming and recording everything we do when we first got there for our YouTube channel, we just sat there and took it in.  

Sitting on a small boulder that is jutting up out of the ground as you gaze upon the power of the waterfall will clear your mind and make you realize that no matter how hard you struggle, time will flow on, and it will work itself out in the end.  

The water that was calmly flowing through the river suddenly comes to a cliff and freefalls several hundred feet. Wind will push it one way or another trying to pull it in untold directions as the water falls. In the end, the water will reach the bottom and continue flowing on as it once was, with the chaos of the fall a distant memory in its long journey of life. 

Poço Ribeiras do Ferreiro

These waterfalls are considered to be the most gorgeous waterfalls in all of the Azores!

The are located on the island of Flores, and lay peacefully waiting your presence just a mere 600 meters from the street. 

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Maddie and I did the hike up the magical stone walkway, through trees, ferns, and along the small stream that drains the lake into the ocean. When we got up there, it was so beautiful and majestic that we sat in awe in the presence of these falls. Watching the water pour over the cliff through all the small cracks and valleys so high up is breathtaking.

Being how we visited Flores in the winter, which is their rainy season, we got to witness many more tiny waterfalls on the cliff side. Most people visit here in the summer when the days are dry, but this also means that the waterfalls are dry. Only the largest of the falls will remain during this season, but in the winter, all the little falls will be pouring out wispy sprays that are carried off by the wind into a fine mist that spreads out over the cliff face. 

Having seen many waterfalls on our first day in Flores, I must say that these really were the most spectacular and memorable of them all!