Ilha de São Miguel Things to Do

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Nordeste is a very scenic town on the north eastern part of the island and even if it is not the most visited town on the island because of the distance there then i stropngly suggest that you pay a visit to Nordeste as it´s a real scenic little town surronded by some very nice dramatic nature.
Nordeste is also the center of local handicrafts and you should try and visit "casa do tranbbalho" while you are there.
The townhall, the main chursh and the bridge are some of the main places to visit aswell and you should try and spend at least half a day there.

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Furnas is a nice little town situated in a vulcanic crater on the center of the island.
Furnas has quite a lot of vulcanic activity and you see the steam coming out of the ground right in the center of town aswell as you have a couple of geysers there.
One think that makes Furnes something special to visit is also that they have holes in the ground just outside of town where they bury large pots of food in the morning and then dig it up at noon and sell it in various restaurants around town.
If going there then you should stop on top of the crater before going down and enjoy the fantastic view and having lunch there at one of the restaurants is a must too even if the local cuisine can be a little heavy there.

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Parque Terra Nostra is a botanical garden set up in 1780 by american business man Thomas Hickling who lived most of his life on the Azores and was married to a local woman.
He imported plants and trees from all over the world and they can now be seen at the park.
There is also a thermal bath at the botanical garden that you can use once you have paid the 5 euro entry.
There is also a hotel connected to the botanical garden that you can stay at if you want to spend the night there.

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Cha Gorreana is the biggest commercial tea factory in europe and it´s open for visitors and the entry is free.
The Azores has a tea production of roughly 100 tonnes of tea a year and their green tea is in particular famous.
The tea fields are right next to the factory and you can visit them too if you like.
They also have free tea tastings at the factory and you can see the whole production line there and become a bit wiser when it comes to tea.

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Ponta Delgada is the biggest town on the Sao Miguel island and a lively city with a nice historical city center.
Ponta Delgada has the biggest selection of hotels on the island and it is also the center of infrastructure, so it´s the place that most people will use as a base when exploring the island and i think that is a good choice as there are quite a lot of things to see there.
There is a lively harbour with a nice old fortress next to the old part of town and the town has a good selection of restaurants too, so don´t miss out on Ponta Delgada.

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These twin lakes [green and blue] are located on the West side of the Island, about 20 km from Ponta Delgada, and along with 12 others are inside a protected landscape.
The Sete Cidades volcano has on its top a caldera with an average diametre of 5 km and a maximum depth of 400 m, and this caldera was formed by a sucession of collapses of the top of the mountain, beginning 21000 years ago.
From the Vista do Rei view point, located one foot from the abandoned hotel, there is a panoramic view of the whole caldera of the Sete Cidades, including some of the volcano cones that were active after the formation of the caldera.
The flora along the shore includes many species such as: Potamogeton polygonifolius, Potamogeton lucens, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Ceratophyllum demersum, Egeria densa, Eleocharis palustris, Nymphaea alba and Chara fragilis.
Several species of fishes were introduced during the last hundred years, including: Rutilus rutilus, Esox lucius, Salmo fario (trout) Cyprius carpio (carp), Perca fluvialitis (perch) and Micropterus salmoides (black bass).
In Septembre 2010, these lakes were declared as one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal.
A regular bus service connects this village to Ponta Delgada.

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Furnas Village belongs to the municipality of Povoação. The population in 2001 was 1,541, its density is 45.5/km² and the area is 33.88 km². The parish is one of the largest in the island and in the Azores, and is located 45 km east of Ponta Delgada, west of Povoação village and southeast of Ribeira Grande.

Places must see:
Furnas Lake
Botanic Garden
Geysers
Dona Beija Spot

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If you are the kind of person that likes hiking in damp and moist jungle-like environments you should definately try out the Faial da Terra hike on the Azores.
Faial da Terra is a small coastal village on the south eastern side of São Miguel surrounded by mountains.

The hike takes about 2,5hrs and is approximately 6,5km long (round-trip). The first bit is the really tough one because of the massive inclination of the path. On a hot damp summer´s day you will feel quite beat after just a few hundred meters. After a while the steep inclination softens up and the hike continues on a small gravel path.

During the hike you will have the possibilty to see the beautiful waterfall Salto do Prego and even take a swim in the 15 degree C water. This is a great place to eat and drink before you go back.