Rugged Coastline With Dramatic Cliffs And Black-sand Beaches Of São Miguel

São Miguel's coast is a catalogue of volcanic drama. The island's rim is a line of cliffs, sea stacks, lava ledges and small pockets of black sand, and a drive along the coast road, with a stop at every viewpoint, is one of the best ways to understand the island. Everything here, the dark stone, the sand, the rock pools and the sheer drops, comes from lava that flowed into the sea over thousands of years.

The black-sand beaches are the most distinctive. The sand is basalt, ground down by the waves into fine, dark grains that absorb the sun and can be hot underfoot in summer. Praia de Santa Bárbara, near Ribeira Grande on the north coast, is the best known, a long beach with big Atlantic waves that makes it the island's main surfing spot and a venue for international competitions, and it has a lifeguard and a beach bar in summer. Further east, Porto Formoso has a small black-sand cove, the Praia dos Moinhos, with an old mill house nearby, and in the north-west, the beach at Mosteiros looks out onto a group of sea stacks, the Ilhéus dos Mosteiros, which rise from the water close to the shore and make a dramatic backdrop. Swimming at these beaches needs care, as the waves are powerful and currents can be strong, so use the supervised areas and heed flags.

The cliffs are even more spectacular in the north-east. Near Nordeste, a string of viewpoints, among them Ponta do Sossego and Ponta da Madrugada, open onto green slopes that fall steeply to the sea, with waterfalls and hydrangeas, while the lighthouse at Ponta do Arnel stands on a headland reached by a winding road. Along the south coast, small fishing villages sit in coves, and at Ponta da Ferraria in the west, hot springs rise at the edge of the ocean, mixing with the sea in pools in the lava rock. The sea is also a place for wildlife: whales and dolphins pass off the island's coast for much of the year, and boat trips leave from Ponta Delgada and Vila Franca do Campo.

Reaching these places is easy by car, as the island is small, and signed viewpoints, called miradouros, provide parking and benches. Walking trails run along parts of the coast and down to some beaches, but paths can be steep and slippery, so wear shoes with grip. Weather changes quickly, and in rough seas the surf can send spray over the viewpoints, so stay behind barriers.

The coast is at its best in summer and early autumn, when the sea is warmest and the days are long, though the Atlantic is never very warm. The landscape suits drivers, walkers, surfers and photographers, and it makes a good complement to the island's lakes and hot springs.