🥾 Hiker3 days

The three classified trails

PS PR1 · PR2 · PR3 · Facho · Zimbralinho · western tip

At a glance

Porto Santo has three classified trails and you will walk them all: the Castelo forest and the Facho, the Pico Branco mule path with the north coast, then the Levada do Pico do Castelo to the Graça chapel. The third afternoon heads west: the Ana Ferreira Piano, the Zimbralinho cove and the sun going down at Ponta da Canavieira.

Difficulty: Moderate · 3 PS PR trails · ~16 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 · PS PR2, the Facho and the east9

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

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
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.
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.
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
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
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
18:15 → 18:40Photoon 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
18:45 → 19:15Visiton foot · 10 min
Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Graça
Alone on the slope of Pico do Castelo, reached by a staircase from Casinhas: founded in 1533, destroyed in 1812 and rebuilt by the islanders in the 20th century with materials from Serra de Fora, it holds a 16th-century Flemish Virgin and served as a refuge during pirate raids.
📍 Capela de Nossa Senhora da Graça
💡 Insider tip — Feast on 14–16 August: mass on the 15th, then an arraial.
19:45Mealby 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.

🔗 Book a trail slot (SIMplifica)

Day 2 · PS PR1 and the north coast7

📍 ER 120 → Pico Branco → Cotrim → Serra de Dentro → Salemas · ⏰ 07:00 · 🚗 ~45 min

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.
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
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)
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 »
15:30 → 16:15Visitby 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
16:15 → 18:00Visiton foot · 20 min
Natural pools of Porto das Salemas
At low tide the sea pulls back to reveal a multitude of turquoise pools, some sandy-bottomed, in a cove on the north coast. Access on foot only from Fonte da Areia: a track, then a steep path with loose stones.
📍 Porto das Salemas
20:00Mealby car · 20 min
Dinner with feet in the sand — Pé na Água
A beach restaurant whose terrace sits on the sand, facing the Atlantic: grilled fish of the day, limpets with garlic, caldeirada and homemade bolo do caco. Booking recommended in July and August.

🌧️ 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.
Closed shoes are a must for Zimbralinho and Porto das Salemas: steep paths with loose stones and no services on site.
Porto das Salemas: the natural pools only show at low tide — check the tide time before you go (link below). No lifeguards; keep away from the foot of the cliffs.
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.

Day 3 · PS PR3, the Piano and the western tip8

📍 Camacha → Graça → Campo de Baixo → Zimbralinho → Canavieira · ⏰ 07:00 · 🚗 ~50 min

08:00 → 09:45Visitby car · 10 min
PS PR3 — Levada do Pico do Castelo
Dug in the first half of the 20th century to collect rainwater, the Levada links Camacha to the Graça chapel along the southern foot of Pico do Castelo (80 to 210 m): endemic heather, white poplars and views over the coast and Ilhéu de Baixo. Only this section is passable; the 530 m tunnel is closed.
💡 Insider tip — Little shade: water and sun protection.
09:45 → 10:15Visit
Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Graça
Alone on the slope of Pico do Castelo, reached by a staircase from Casinhas: founded in 1533, destroyed in 1812 and rebuilt by the islanders in the 20th century with materials from Serra de Fora, it holds a 16th-century Flemish Virgin and served as a refuge during pirate raids.
📍 Capela de Nossa Senhora da Graça
💡 Insider tip — Feast on 14–16 August: mass on the 15th, then an arraial.
11:00 → 11:30Visitby car · 20 min
São Pedro chapel and its caravel
On the slopes of Pico de Ana Ferreira at Campo de Baixo: Baroque and Mannerist, gilded altarpiece, painted vault, a holy-water font decorated with shells and, on the pebble forecourt, a caravel for the patron of sailors. A footpath leaves from here to the Piano columns.
📍 Capela de São Pedro
💡 Insider tip — 29 June: procession from Ribeiro Salgado beach, then the fish auction.
11:30 → 12:15Photoon foot · 25 min
The "Piano" of Pico de Ana Ferreira
Light-grey prismatic columns of lava, born of the contraction of magma cooling slowly inside a volcanic conduit and exposed by a former quarry: geosite, geological heritage of regional value. Best seen from the Miradouro da Pedreira, 144 m from the road.
📍 Pico de Ana Ferreira
13:00 → 14:30Mealby car · 10 min
Bolo do caco & espetada — O Forno
The town-centre bolo do caco specialist: Porto Santo's version, taller and wider and without sweet potato, baked on basalt stone and served with an espetada.
16:00 → 18:00Visitby car · 15 min
Down to Zimbralinho cove
From the Miradouro das Flores junction a road and then a steep path (930 m from the tarmac) drop to a pebble beach squeezed between cliffs: the island's finest pillow lavas and renowned snorkelling in calm seas. Sunny in the morning; in shade in the afternoon.
📍 Zimbralinho
💡 Insider tip — Look for the snail fossils in the rock on the way down.
18:30 → 19:30Photoby car · 10 min
Sunset at Ponta da Canavieira
The island's western tip, all dark basalt and cliffs: Ilhéu de Ferro ahead, Pico de Ana Ferreira behind and, in good visibility, Madeira's north coast — the sun sinks into the ocean right in front of you.
📍 Miradouro da Ponta da Canavieira
20:00Mealby car · 10 min
Island wines — Adega das Levadas
Home cooking and Porto Santo wines: Listrão, the "queen of the white grapes", and Caracol, grown on calcareous sand behind croché dry-stone walls — a tasting before the nearby Calheta sunset.
💡 Insider tip — Late August: Festa das Vindimas, public press and tastings in the town centre.

🌧️ 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.
Closed shoes are a must for Zimbralinho and Porto das Salemas: steep paths with loose stones and no services on site.
Sun: the National Maritime Authority advises avoiding the sun between 11 am and 4 pm and drinking regularly — hence beach time early and late in the day.

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