Miradouro da Boca do Inferno

There is a place above the lakes of Sete Cidades where the whole volcanic drama of São Miguel unfolds at once: two lakes side by side, the green village below, the crater rim, the sea, and — when the clouds oblige — one of the great views of the Atlantic. The Miradouro da Boca do Inferno, on the western side of the island, is the viewpoint everyone photographs and no one forgets.

A caldera and its legend

Sete Cidades is the collapsed summit of a volcano that erupted some 36,000 years ago, leaving a crater almost five kilometres across. Inside it lie the twin lakes, Lagoa Verde and Lagoa Azul, said in legend to be the tears of a shepherd and a princess. From the Boca do Inferno the view takes in both lakes, the smaller Lagoa Rasa and Lagoa de Santiago beyond, and the parish of Sete Cidades in the crater’s heart.

What to see

• Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde, the twin crater lakes
• Lagoa Rasa and Lagoa de Santiago from above
• The view down to the white village inside the caldera
• The surrounding forest of the Mata do Canário
• Sunrise light on the lakes, if the mountains grant it

Practical information

The viewpoint sits at about 730 metres on the road around the caldera, reached on foot by a gentle path of roughly 1.2 kilometres round trip from the Lagoa do Canário car park. It is free to visit at any hour. Fog comes and goes at this altitude: check the local webcams before making the trip, and take a windproof layer.

Image credit: Miradouro da Boca do Inferno by José Luís Ávila Silveira/Pedro Noronha e Costa — Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.