Pico

                            Pico is a nice island to visit. If you want you can stay at the island of Faial and have easy access to Pico. The
                            ferry from Horta to Madalena only takes about ½ hour. There are departures all day long. Pico is the second
                            largest island about 42 x 15 km. Here you have a population of approximately 15,000 people.

                            Looking at the map, there is fairly one road round the island. It follows along with the coastline. On the south-
                            eastern part of the island it's mainly forest along the road, which can make obstruct watching nature. But do try
                            the tour. It's still a nice tour around the island.

The nature of Pico is dominated by the volcano Pico. It's the highest point in Portugal with it's 2.351 meters.

                            In the towns of Lajes, there is a whale hunting museum, and at Sao Roche there is a whale factory museum which
                            is very interesting to see. Apart from this there are some cozy very small villages around the island. On the way
                            back to Madalena, take the road to the top of Pico. By the top means, that you can drive up until about 1200 meters
                            above sea level. From there is about 1.000 meters to the very top of Pico.

                          If you decide to climb to the very top, you must be very experienced and in a good physical condition. The weather
                            changes very rapidly, and you can easily put yourself into severe problems. But enjoy the magnificent view from 1200
                            meters above sea level. From here you can easily see as long as Faial and São Jorge. The trip round the island
                            can easily be done by car in about 7-8 hours.

                            If you are planning to fly to Faial from Terceira or São Miguel, and it's sold out, you can try to get a ticket to Pico. It
                            doesn't cost mush by taxi from Pico airport to the ferry at Madalena. From there you can easily take the ferry to Horta.
                          Pico is well known for its fine wine production. There are no beaches.

From Pico there are great opportunities to go on whale watching. Getting close to various spices of whales is a must
visiting Azores.

                            Pico has long been the boat-building center of the Azores: fishing boats, whaleboats (canoas), dories, launches and
                          even model boats have been built here for as long as anyone remembers. In the small north-coast town of Santa
                            Amaro this custom continues and boats are still being build here using traditional methods.

Lajes do Pico