Monthly notes

Activity in Sete Cidades

PR3SMI Vista do Rei – Sete Cidades trail

Official 7.5 km linear trail from the Vista do Rei viewpoint down to Sete Cidades village; easy, about 2 hours, with one steep, slippery stretch.

Address
Starts at Miradouro da Vista do Rei, ER 8-1ª, Sete Cidades; ends at the São Nicolau church, Sete Cidades, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel
Open in Google Mapstrails.visitazores.com

OK with kids

Rated easy and mostly downhill, but 7.5 km with a steep, slippery section on the Arrebentões road. Our reading of the trail data.

The notes

What the sources say (research)

  • Linear, easy, 7.5 km, about 2 hours. It starts at the Vista do Rei viewpoint, follows the south-west slope of the crater ridges and ends inside the village, with views into the crater and its lakes on the way. [Azores Trails, checked 14 Oct 2026]
  • Where the trail meets the tarmac, a short detour left goes to the Lomba do Vasco viewpoint over the west coast and Mosteiros. [Azores Trails]
  • After the junction with PR4SMI the route uses the Arrebentões road, which the trail page calls “quite inclined and slippery”. [Azores Trails]
  • It finishes by the São Nicolau church, close to the lake shore and the Casa do Parque. [Azores Trails]
  • Closures: PR3SMI was not on the Azores Trails list of temporarily closed trails on 14 October 2026. Check the alerts page on the day. [Azores Trails alerts]
  • Being linear, you need a way back to the start or a pick-up. The weekday bus situation is on the Sete Cidades page.

The longer ridge alternative: PR4SMI Mata do Canário.

Open questions

Where the places are

From PR3SMI Vista do Rei – Sete Cidades trail: Lagoa das Sete Cidades: kayak and SUP (3 km), PR4SMI Mata do Canário – Sete Cidades trail (4 km), PRC5SMI Serra Devassa trail (5 km). Straight-line distances from the centre point, not driving times.

Activity

Lagoa das Sete Cidades: kayak and SUP

Paddle the calm crater lake under the green caldera walls; several firms in Sete Cidades rent SUPs and sit-on-top kayaks. Prices and season: ask locally.

  • OK with kids
  • Seasonal
Researched

last checked

Activity

PR4SMI Mata do Canário – Sete Cidades trail

Official 11.7 km linear trail along the Sete Cidades crater ridge, past the Pico da Cruz viewpoint, down to the village church; medium, about 3 hours.

  • Hard with kids
Researched

last checked

Activity

PRC5SMI Serra Devassa trail

Official 9.1 km loop through the lake uplands east of the Sete Cidades crater, up Pico das Éguas and past the Grota do Inferno view; medium, about 3.5 hours.

  • Hard with kids
Researched

last checked