Hey, fellow mountain enthusiasts and volcano admirers! If you’re dreaming of hiking to the highest point in Portugal and soaking up a fantastic summer vacation in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, Pico Island (Ilha do Pico) is just the place for you. Let me give you a brief introduction on how to plan your stay & hike there.

1. Where is Pico located?
2. How to get there
3. How many days do I need to visit Pico?
4. How to hike Pico
   1. The climb
   2. The descend
   3. The Aftermath
5. Our Itinerary of 4 Days in Pico

Where is Pico located?

Pico Island is part to the Azores Islands which are a stunning archipelago located in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 kilometers west of mainland Portugal. Comprising nine volcanic islands, the Azores are renowned for their lush landscapes, dramatic cliffs, and geothermal activity. The islands‘ temperate climate supports a rich variety of flora and fauna, making it a haven for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. The Azores are also celebrated for their whale watching opportunities, vibrant local culture, and traditional cuisine, which features fresh seafood and unique local cheeses.

Each island has its own unique charm: São Miguel, the largest, is famous for its crater lakes and hot springs, while the second largest, Ilha do Pico, boasts Portugal’s highest peak, the eponymous Mount Pico, which we happily summited! This impressive volcano is not only the highest peak in Portugal and the Azores but also the tallest point along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

How to get there

It’s great to know where this island is, but let’s talk about how to actually get there. Is it easy to reach? If you’re coming from Europe, you’re in luck—many airlines offer flights with a layover in mainland Portugal. Lisbon is the most common stop, though you can also find layovers in Porto. This summer, we flew from Germany to mainland Portugal, spent a week exploring the country (stay tuned for a blog post about that adventure!), and then took a direct flight from Lisbon to Ilha do Pico. The flight is about two hours, and I highly recommend SATA Airways for the journey.

If you have more time to explore the Azores Islands, I highly recommend visiting São Miguel first. You can get there with a layover in mainland Portugal, or if you’re lucky, with a direct flight from select European cities like Amsterdam or Frankfurt. Its proximity to the U.S. also means there are direct flights from there. Once you’ve explored São Miguel, you can easily hop over to Ilha do Pico with a short 40-minute flight.

How many days do I need to visit Pico?

From my experience I’d say that you want to spend at least 4 days in Pico to ensure that you can explore the surroundings on your arrival day, head off to visit some nice places to snorkel and plan 2 days for the Pico Hike (2nd day is for recovery – as you won’t feel your legs for at least a day and it wouldn’t be comfortable to fly like that). But if you have time, I would recommend to stay even longer to further explore the neighboring islands Faial and São Jorge. Within our time on Ilha do Pico we did a day-trip to Faial which is mentioned in the last part of this blogpost.

How to hike Pico

Beware this is not an easy hike as it is mostly very steep. However most likely, when time passes by and you think back of this hike you might remember it completely flat – Just as my friend Francisca who convinced us to climb Pico 🙂

The climb

We decided to opt for a nocturnal hike to the summit so we could enjoy the sunrise above the clouds. To do so, you have to hike with a Guide. The alarm went on at midnight and we got ready to leave for the pick-up point in Maddalena where we met our Guide at 1 AM. We headed to Casa da Montanha – the base where the hike to Pico starts and we got an introduction together with our group of around 12 people. Also we got our gear such as headlamps and hiking sticks. Make sure to bring appropriate clothing like Hiking boots and wear very warm layers. If you do not have gloves and hat you are unfortunately not allowed to do the hike, at least not with our tour guide. Do not wear old hiking booths that you didn’t wear for a long time – trust me, it is worth it to buy a new pair- would say my friend whose soles of her hiking booths had fallen off in the first 30 minutes of the hike. Luckily our tour guide had an extra pair in Casa da Montanha, but she had to climb back all alone with our second tour guide.

You must truly think, why on earth do I want to wake up at midnight to do such a challenging hike, sleep deprived? That’s a very good question and after doing this hike I have some answers for you:

• Hiking in the dark with the only light source being your headlamp is actually quite pleasing as you won’t see far and can only imagine how far it is still to go. It was truly a benefit to not know how much of the path was still missing.
• You don’t want to start hiking in the morning as you feel the sun will be burning once you reach the summit, and after that the descend will take you at least the same amount of time, if not even longer.
• Going with a tour guide makes you push harder- at least in my case. I’m not going to lie, the hike was very hard but I pushed through it for the sake of the group as well. If I would have hiked by myself I’m sure I would have needed more time to complete the hike.
• The views are stunning: experiencing a sunrise over the clouds is just a truly magical experience. And if there are no clouds in sight you will witness one of the most amazing sunrises overseaing 5 azorean Islands: Terceira, Graciosa, Faial, São Jorge and of course, Pico.
• After the hike you can start bragging about how you summited the highest point of Portugal in the middle of the night. 🙂

I’m pretty sure that you too can master this hike, also without a guide but to my knowledge it is then only allowed to hike during the day. It is also a possibility to camp on the crater overnight and to wake up already on the volcano to then reach the peak for sunrise. However,I think the 1 Day hike is more than enough.

We started to hike approximately at 1:30 AM. The hike is mostly steep with very little flatter parts in between, but is manageable as we did a break around every half an hour when going up. The floor is mostly rocky so you have to be careful where to not step on a loose rock and fall or bend over. The last part until the summit takes the steepness on another level and you will understand why it’s called „climb“ the highest point of Portugal. Here, our guide told us to leave the walking sticks on the ground and continue the last 10 mins rock climbing – if you have fear of heights this is going to be extra hard (but since it’s dark you won’t see far in the night & it will rather be a problem for the descend).

After this tough last part of the hike we reached the summit of 2351 meters around 5:30 AM. 4 hours of intense hiking made me quite sleepy on the peak but the adrenaline & the cold keeps you awake. Luckily there are some hot spots on the summit as the volcano is releasing hot air and you can warm up a bit. We were the first group to reach the summit, while we were waiting 1 hour for the sunrise, more groups arrived so that we were around 30 people on the peak. While you are waiting for the sun to make its appearance you will be amazed by the amount of stars you are able to see on the clear sky as you are above the clouds. We even spotted the milky way, shooting stars and different star constellations such as the Big Dipper („Großer Wagen“ in German), so basically every wish that could become true on a nocturnal hike. Last but not least, the sunrise above the clouds was one of the most beautiful experiences I will cherish forever.

The descend

After witnessing the amazing sunrise and taking a lot of pictures with the highest point of Portugal we began the descend around 7AM. (Reminder, by that time we were already on our feet 7 hours). And if you might think the descend will be less challenging than going up the mountain, I have to disappoint you. It will take the same 4 hours to go down as to go up, if not, even longer. The reason for that is that due to the loose rocks it is quite challenging to descend as you have to be careful not to flip. However, the first part without the walking sticks is the hardest.

For me, the descend felt like it took longer than going up. Neverending steep curves, little climbs and careful steps took us all the way down to Casa da Montanha. By that time our knees were wobbly and our legs felt weak. Once you’ve mastered the descend you will be pleased to feel solid floor under your feet again at around 11:30 AM. Before the tour ended officially our guide handed us our well deserved certificates and from that moment on you can proudly prove to everyone that you hiked the highest point of Portugal!

The Aftermath

Do not book a wine tasting after this hike – I repeat it- do not book a wine tasting! I can speak from experience as this is exactly what we did on the same day after going back home and sleep for 3 hours. I suggest you to get all the possible rest you can get after the hike. Once you reach your accommodation it is important to fuel your body as you probably have burned at least 2000 calories (Our Apple Watches all tracked a minimum of that amount) and then get some hours of sleep in. Once you wake up in the afternoon I would suggest to take it easy as your legs most probably feel as if they hiked for 12 hours (which they in fact did). So don’t rush to see other sights on Pico or even take a flight on the same day, trust me.

All in all, I can say that this was a very challenging but also rewarding and amazing experience I would recommend to anyone that enjoys hiking in a beautiful place in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. However, the Azores, and also Pico have more to offer than only hiking the highest point of Portugal, including snorkeling, spotting dolphins, visit volcano craters and eating in the most amazing restaurants. That’s why I will share the Itinerary of our trip in detail in the following section.

Our Itinerary of 4 Days in Pico

Our itinerary was kindly planned by our azorean friend whose grandma is actually from Ilha do Pico, hence with all the tips and locations you can expect a truly authentic & local experience of Ilha do Pico.

Day 1

After arriving on the island we headed off to our accommodation and around lunchtime we visited Piscinas naturais da Criação Velha where you can have a very nice snorkeling session and will see lots of different fishes. Coming from mainland Portugal the water temperature seemed very pleasing and we could have spent hours snorkeling around. Our next stop was equally beautiful: Furnas de Santo António. This place seems like nothing I’ve seen before, especially in Europe. Giant Rocks from which you can jump in deep blue Atlantic water make it also the perfect location for snorkeling as you can spot different kind of fishes and even jellyfishes.

The first day already sounds like a dream, but if you think it can’t get any better, I am happy to be able to disappoint you. In fact, the day got even better as we headed of to our first dinner location: Magma. This restaurant offered the best steak I’ve ever eaten, and not going to lie, it was so good I sometimes still think about it, just as now as I’m writing this 🙂 We 6 all ordered the Magma steak followed by delicious Magma cake. This says it all! On top of the delicious food, Magma has perfect ocean views and you can also see the neighbor island São Jorge

Day 2

We started our second day by taking a ferry to the neighboring island Ilha do Faial. It takes around 30 mins by boat and on the way you can try to spot dolphins in the ocean. We were very lucky to see them on our way back to Pico in the afternoon as they often like to follow the waves of the boat. As we were 6 people renting a taxi was the easiest way to discover Faial. We headed first to Capelinhos which is the newest volcano in the Azores as it last eruption was in the 1960s. After that we drove to Caldeira do Cabeço Gordo which was stunning as well. After lunch at the port of Horta we walked to the beautiful beach Praia do Porto Pim where we spent some hours snorkeling in the crystal clear water. We spotted many fishes and even small stingrays! After that we headed back to Pico and called it an early night as we went to bed at 9pm. It was the shortest night I’ve probably ever had because we needed to wake up at midnight for the Pico climb.

Day 3

Day 4

On our departure day we headed to Museo do Vinho to visit the beautiful vineyards with stunning view over the ocean. After that we went for a swim again and then it was time to go!

The last four days on Pico Island flew by and were the perfect mixture between exploring the island in- & outside the ocean, mastering the highest point of Portugal and eating in delicious restaurants & I couldn’t recommend to visit this island more.

Happy exploring! 🙂