Fajãs do Toledo

Circular and departing from Toledo, this trail takes you to three of the most well-known fajãs of São Jorge: Manuel Teixeira, Rasa and Vasco Martins. Much of the route develops within the Natural Park of São Jorge, in the protected area for habitat and species management of the northwest coast, and integrates the core zone of the Biosphere Reserve of the Fajãs of São Jorge. The fajãs are the island’s signature feature: small platforms of flat terrain by the sea, born from cliff collapses or lava flows. The fertile soil and mild microclimate made them suitable for crops that do not thrive at the higher elevations of the island.

The walk starts near the Ermida de São José, from 1889. Following to the right, along the old regional road, the descent then begins through former cornfields and wheat fields, now transformed into pastures. It is a gently sloping section, with open views towards Ponta Furada and Fajã do Ouvidor; on clear days, you can even spot Graciosa and Terceira on the horizon.

Further down appears Fajã Manuel Teixeira, also called Fajã do Caminho do Meio because of an old stepped trail, left abandoned after the 1980 earthquake. Small terraces remain here, once with vines and fruit trees, yam cultivation near the springs, ruins of old buildings, bundles of firewood and the Ribeira da Quebrada. Crossing this stream carefully, you reach Fajã Rasa, a narrow strip of land by the sea where vines, potatoes, melons and watermelons were once sown. It was off this fajã that, in the mid-nineteenth century, the Spanish ship Algorta ran aground on the shallows, loaded with cotton; the entire crew was saved and received in the bay.

The trail continues to Fajã Vasco Martins, one of the largest and most isolated on the island and equally abandoned, like the others, after 1980. Here stands out the waterfall of Poço das Airoses, whose name comes from the eels that existed there, locally known as “airoses”. These fajãs were for a long time the basis of the economy and livelihood of the people of Toledo and Beira, and today they are found almost deserted, but still show signs of that past: wine cellars, wine presses and old cultivation fields.

The return is made by climbing up a shortcut opened in the cliff face, among endemic vegetation and wide panoramas. Up there, you resume the path of access to the agricultural fields until you reach the regional road; turn left and head back to the starting point.