Baías da Agualva

Short linear trail that follows the northern coastline of Terceira, connecting the parishes of Agualva and Quatro Ribeiras. Almost the entire route lies within the Natural Park of Terceira, in a Protected Area for Habitat or Species Management, so you walk through classified territory from start to finish.

The walk begins at the canada of Alagoa, beside the car park, and the trail starts with a descent towards the geossite of Alagoa da Fajãzinha, also called Fajã da Alagoa. This is an ancient bay that gradually filled with sediments carried by the Grota da Alagoa, the watercourse that flows here, and which today has a beach of rounded pebbles in front of it.

From this point onwards, and always heading west, the trail reveals several bays that do not exceed 70 metres in altitude. Along the cliffs you can see the columnar or prismatic disjunction of the rock, and there are also fossil cliffs of trachytic nature, with materials left by the island’s volcanic activity over the last 23,000 years.

On the cliffs live a set of endemic plants worth recognising: Spergularia azorica, heather (Erica azorica), island sorrel (Rumex azoricus) and vidalia (Azorina vidalii), the latter one of the most emblematic of the Açores. As for birds, it is common to come across Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) and common terns (Sterna hirundo), and, with luck, spot grey herons (Ardea cinerea), sanderlings (Calidris alba) or snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus).

Much of this coastal strip accumulates protection status: it is a Special Conservation Zone of the Natura 2000 Network, Important Area for Birds and Biodiversity (IBA) and geossite of the Açores UNESCO Global Geopark. It is therefore worth walking carefully and leaving everything as you found it, so that this heritage is preserved for those who come after.