Azores Photography Guide 2026

Sete Cidades Twin Lakes from Vista do Rei

The classic elevated view over Sete Cidades' Green and Blue twin crater lakes, taken from the rim above the abandoned Monte Palace hotel.

Best time: Sunrise and mid-morning, before afternoon cloud typically fills the caldera

Lagoa do Fogo from Miradouro do Pico do Carvão

An elevated view over the sheltered volcanic crater lake of Lagoa do Fogo, ringed by scrub-covered slopes within the Sete Cidades protected landscape.

Best time: Early morning, before cloud typically forms over the crater by midday

Miradouro da Boca do Inferno

A viewpoint on the inner rim of the Sete Cidades caldera looking down over both lakes and the small village between them.

Best time: Mid-morning for clear light into the crater before cloud builds

Ponta dos Capelinhos Lighthouse

The 1957-58 Capelinhos eruption buried the base of this lighthouse in volcanic ash, leaving it stranded on a grey ash plain at the western tip of Faial.

Best time: Golden hour, when low sun rakes across the ash-grey landscape and the half-buried lighthouse

Caldeira do Faial Crater

A viewpoint on the crater rim looking down 400 metres into Faial's forested volcanic caldera, its floor a patchwork of cedar, heather and small ponds.

Best time: Mid-morning, before afternoon mist typically rolls in

Pico Vineyards UNESCO Landscape (Currais da Criação Velha)

Geometric grids of black volcanic stone walls (currais) shelter individual vines across the lava fields of Pico, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape.

Best time: Late afternoon golden hour, when low light rakes across the black basalt walls

Montanha do Pico Summit at Sunrise

From the crater rim of mainland Portugal's highest peak, sunrise reveals the mountain's shadow projecting far across the Atlantic toward neighbouring islands.

Best time: Sunrise, reached after a pre-dawn ascent from Casa da Montanha

Furnas Fumaroles (Caldeiras das Furnas)

Bubbling mud pools and steaming fumaroles cluster in the centre of Furnas village, where geothermal heat is also used to slow-cook the local cozido stew underground.

Best time: Early morning, when cooler air makes the steam plumes most visible

Lagoa das Furnas

A crater lake ringed by forest and small geothermal cozido pits along its southern shore, with reflections of the wooded caldera walls on calm mornings.

Best time: Early morning for calm, mirror-still water and mist over the lake

Terra Nostra Park

A 19th-century botanical garden built around an iron-rich thermal swimming pool that stains the water a distinctive orange-brown, among exotic trees and camellias.

Best time: Soft overcast light, which suits the garden's dense subtropical foliage and the orange thermal pool

Poça da Dona Beija Thermal Pools

A series of small outdoor thermal pools fed by iron-rich hot springs, set among ferns and tree cover on the edge of Furnas village.

Best time: Dawn or dusk, when steam rises visibly off the warm pools in cooler air

Salto do Prego Waterfall

A twin-drop waterfall reached by a forest trail along the Ribeira Faial da Terra, falling into a natural pool used for swimming.

Best time: Midday, when overhead light reaches into the narrow gorge

Ribeira Grande Coastline and Surf Break

São Miguel's main black-sand surf beach, with a consistent Atlantic swell against a backdrop of green headland cliffs.

Best time: Late afternoon golden hour, backlighting the breaking waves

Ilhéu de Vila Franca do Campo

A near-perfectly circular islet formed by a collapsed volcanic crater, its flooded interior lagoon protected as a nature reserve just offshore.

Best time: Midday, when overhead sun best reveals the turquoise water inside the crater lagoon

Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego

A landscaped garden viewpoint on São Miguel's dramatic northeast coast, terraced with hydrangea hedges above sheer cliffs.

Best time: Late afternoon golden hour along the east-facing cliffs

Miradouro do Pico do Ferro

An elevated viewpoint over the wooded Furnas caldera and Lagoa das Furnas, popular for its wide panorama over the whole geothermal valley.

Best time: Early morning for mist settling over the Furnas valley floor

Angra do Heroísmo Historic Centre

A UNESCO World Heritage 16th-century port town of colonial facades and cobbled streets, framed by the volcanic headland of Monte Brasil across the bay.

Best time: Golden hour over the harbour and Monte Brasil headland

Algar do Carvão Lava Cave

A 90-metre volcanic chimney lined with rare silica stalactites, descending to a small crystal-clear lake at its base.

Best time: Midday, when a shaft of natural light reaches down into the chimney from the surface opening

Baías da Agualva, Terceira

Natural swimming pools cut into black basalt rock along Terceira's north coast, filled and refreshed by the Atlantic swell.

Best time: Late afternoon, when the sun lights the natural volcanic-rock pools

Fajã dos Cubres, São Jorge

A flat lava platform at sea level below towering cliffs, with a brackish coastal lagoon and traditional stone houses.

Best time: Late afternoon, when light rakes across the lagoon and the basalt cliffs above

Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo

One of São Jorge's most remote fajãs, reachable only on foot or by boat, known for its clam-farming lagoon and a surf break beneath cliff walls.

Best time: Sunset, when the surf break and lagoon catch the last light beneath the cliffs

Caldeira Funda e Caldeira Rasa, Flores

Two adjoining crater lakes in a protected nature reserve, Caldeira Funda ringed by dense wildflowers and Caldeira Rasa set in a shallower basin.

Best time: Mid-morning for clear reflections in both lakes before afternoon cloud

Rocha dos Bordões

A cliff face of tightly packed hexagonal basalt columns rising above the village of Fazenda, among the most striking geological formations on Flores.

Best time: Golden hour, when low sun highlights the vertical basalt columns

Poço do Bacalhau Waterfall, Flores

A waterfall dropping into a natural swimming pool at the head of a fern-lined ravine, one of dozens of cascades that give Flores its name.

Best time: Midday, when overhead light reaches into the forested ravine

Caldeirão Crater, Corvo Island

A 2.3-kilometre-wide volcanic caldera dotted with small lakes and cone-shaped islets, viewed from the rim above Vila do Corvo.

Best time: Mid-morning for the clearest air and least cloud over the crater

Crater lakes and calderas

Geothermal features

Coastal fajãs and volcanic coastline

UNESCO cultural landscape

Waterfalls and forest

Volcanic caves