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Visit Porto Santo
🥾 Hiker2 days

Eastern summits, wild north coast

PS PR2 + Facho · PS PR1 Pico Branco · Cotrim · Fonte da Areia

At a glance

Day one climbs the east: PS PR2, the Castelo fort, the Facho vereda, then Portela and its windmills at sundown. Day two heads north: the old mule path of PS PR1 to Pico Branco and Terra Chã, the Cotrim cove, the Serra de Dentro clays and the Fonte da Areia spring.

Difficulty
Moderate · two classified trails · ~10 km on foot
Best season
Trails open all year (SIMplifica slots); the IFCN asks you to turn back in heavy rain or strong wind.

🎒 Packing list

  • Walking shoes
  • Water, 1.5 L per person per outing
  • Windbreaker and hat
  • Sunscreen
  • SIMplifica trail booking (€4.50)
  • Swimsuit for the evening swim

Day by day

Day 1 · Castelo, Facho and Portela8

📍 Moledo → summits → Portela · ⏰ 07:00 · 🚗 ~30 min

  1. 07:30 → 08:00Meal

    Coffee on Largo do Pelourinho

    The heart of Vila Baleira at its quiet hour: terrace cafés under palms and dragon trees, between the 16th-century old town hall and the mother church. Everything starts here on foot.

    📍 Largo do Pelourinho
  2. 08:15 → 10:30Visitby car · 10 min

    PS PR2 — Vereda do Pico do Castelo

    The island's forest trail, graded easy, from Moledo: 3.2 km round the north of Pico do Facho (1:30) or 4.6 km round the south (2:15), under Aleppo pines and dragon trees, up to the 16th-century fort and its cannons. Early, before the heat, on a booked slot.

    💡 Insider tip — The forest gives shade, but carry water.

  3. 10:30 → 12:00Photoon foot · 50 min

    Pico do Facho, the roof of the island

    No road reaches the highest point: you climb on foot along the unmarked vereda that starts at Pico do Castelo. Here burned the "fachos" that warned of pirate ships; the whole island, the beach and the islets lie below.

    📍 Pico do Facho

    💡 Insider tip — A windy summit: windbreaker even in fine weather.

  4. 12:15 → 13:00Mealon foot · 40 min

    Picnic at Pico do Castelo

    Picnic area and lookout at 437 m under the conifers planted in the 1920s: the bay, Vila Baleira, Ilhéu da Cal and Ilhéu de Cima below — welcome shade in the hot hours.

    📍 Pico do Castelo
  5. 15:30 → 17:00Breakby car · 15 min

    Late afternoon at Fontinha

    Back on the town beach as the sun drops: showers, lockers and a first-aid post at hand, guaranteed surveillance in season. Everything is on foot from the centre.

    📍 Praia da Fontinha
  6. 17:45 → 18:15Photoby car · 8 min

    Miradouro da Portela

    The island's classic, accessible lookout at the eastern tip: Vila Baleira in the middle of the south coast, the beach and turquoise sea, the harbour and marina, Pico de Baixo and Ilhéu de Cima — the windmills and the Graça chapel staircase are minutes away.

    📍 Miradouro da Portela
  7. 18:15 → 18:45Photoon foot · 5 min

    The three Portela windmills

    Emblems of the island, restored and inaugurated on 14 October 2023 on their original site; Porto Santo's first windmill is said to date from 1794. With the basalt-paved lanes, fountains, wells and waterwheels, they tell of an island that made the most of the wind and of every drop of water.

    📍 Moinhos de Vento da Portela
  8. 19:30Mealby car · 10 min

    Wood-fire espetada — Teodorico

    An institution of the island's interior: marinated beef skewers grilled over bay branches, generous portions — the dinner that rewards a day on the peaks.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — The IFCN asks you to give up the trails in heavy rain or strong wind: Casa Colombo, church and Centro Cultural, or a car loop of the island by the viewpoints.

🎒 What to bring — Walking shoes, 1.5 L of water per person, snacks, hat, sunscreen, windbreaker — the peaks are windy even in fine weather.

  • PS PR trails: since 1 January 2026 you book a 30-minute slot on SIMplifica — €4.50, free for residents and children up to 12. Yellow-and-red waymarks.
  • Water: at least 1.5 L per person — there are no fountains on the trails, and the IFCN asks you to carry spare water and food.
  • IFCN rules: don't walk alone, tell someone your route, finish before dark and turn back in heavy rain or strong wind. Emergencies 112.
Day 2 · Pico Branco, Cotrim and the north coast7

📍 ER 120 → Terra Chã → Serra de Fora → Fonte da Areia · ⏰ 07:00 · 🚗 ~45 min

  1. 08:00 → 09:30Visitby car · 15 min

    PS PR1 — Pico Branco and Terra Chã

    An old 2.7 km mule path (1:30 one way, back the same way, 184 to 450 m): cut into the Rocha Quebrada, it squeezes through the Cabeço do Caranguejo fissure and enters the cypresses planted in the early 20th century. At the fork, Terra Chã right, Pico Branco left.

    💡 Insider tip — Start on the regional road ER 111.

  2. 09:30 → 10:15Photo

    Terra Chã, the native flora

    End of the PR1, a Natura 2000 site: the spot on the island with the most well-preserved native flora, a stone house used as a base for reintroductions, "urzela" lichens on the rocks and, all around, Vila Baleira, Ilhéu de Cima and Pico Branco (450 m).

    📍 Miradouro Terra Chã
  3. 12:00 → 13:30Visitby car · 10 min

    Snorkelling at Porto dos Frades (Cotrim)

    East coast, Serra de Fora: a beach carved by sea and wind, sand and stones in very clear emerald water, often deserted. Old salt pans and a lime kiln to see; no facilities and no lifeguards.

    📍 Praia do Cotrim (Porto dos Frades)
  4. 14:00 → 14:45Visitby car · 10 min

    Serra de Dentro, the green clays

    In the north-east, a landscape of gullies in shades of green: "salão", clays formed by the alteration of undersea volcanic rocks and crossed by dark basaltic dykes — unique in Portugal, they once roofed the casas de salão. Geosite beside the road.

    📍 Serra de Dentro — argiles « salão »
  5. 15:30 → 16:30Visitby car · 10 min

    Fonte da Areia, the spring and the sandstones

    The island's historic spring (18th-century fountain) among pale sandstone cliffs carved by the wind: dune sandstones about 31,000 years old, four units separated by palaeosols, root casts and fossil snails. 25 m from the road; view over Ilhéu da Fonte da Areia and the north coast.

    📍 Fonte da Areia
  6. 18:30 → 19:30Photoby car · 20 min

    Sunset at Calheta

    For the tourist board, THE Porto Santo photo: the sun drops behind Ilhéu da Cal (179 m) and, on clear days, Madeira's outline shows on the horizon. Terminus of the SIGA "Centro – Calheta" bus.

    📍 Praia da Calheta (Porto Santo)
  7. 19:30Mealon foot · 2 min

    Grilled lapas at Calheta

    The restaurant on Praia da Calheta is known for grilled lapas served with garlic-butter bolo do caco, facing Ilhéu da Cal and its lime galleries.

    📍 Praia da Calheta (Porto Santo)

    💡 Insider tip — Lapas outside the closed season (1 Dec – 31 Mar).

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — The IFCN asks you to give up the trails in heavy rain or strong wind: Casa Colombo, church and Centro Cultural, or a car loop of the island by the viewpoints.

🎒 What to bring — Closed shoes for the coastal paths, water, hat, sunscreen, mask and snorkel, a picnic.

  • PS PR trails: since 1 January 2026 you book a 30-minute slot on SIMplifica — €4.50, free for residents and children up to 12. Yellow-and-red waymarks.
  • Water: at least 1.5 L per person — there are no fountains on the trails, and the IFCN asks you to carry spare water and food.
  • Swimming: lifeguards are guaranteed only at Fontinha, Ribeiro Salgado and Cabeço da Ponta in season; elsewhere follow the flags, and never go into the water to rescue someone — call 112.
  • Closed shoes are a must for Zimbralinho and Porto das Salemas: steep paths with loose stones and no services on site.

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