Serra de Fora

The three Portela windmills, emblems of the island, were restored and inaugurated on 14 October 2023 on their original site, to the singing of the Grupo de Folclore do Porto Santo. The island's first windmill is thought to date from 1794; together with the basalt-paved lanes, fountains, wells and waterwheels, the mills form the vernacular architecture of an island that had to make the most of the wind and of every drop of water. From Portela the view takes in the whole south coast: Vila Baleira, the beach, the Porto de Abrigo and Ilhéu de Cima.