Pico das Camarinhas – Ponta da Ferraria

The starting point is the Miradouro da Ilha Sabrina, a name that recalls an unusual episode: in 1811, a volcanic eruption caused a small island to emerge approximately 6 km to the southeast of Ponta da Ferraria. This Ilha Sabrina did not last long and, just a few months later, the force of the waves eventually destroyed it, leaving today only a shallow bank. From here, you continue on foot along a path to the top of Pico das Camarinhas, a cone of basaltic scoria from where a wide view opens over Ponta da Ferraria, the parish of Ginetes and Pico do Cavalo. From this point, you can also distinguish the alignment of three craters, oriented roughly from west to east, a clear mark of fissural volcanism.

From here the route descends, skirting the two coalescing craters. Upon reaching Caminho Velho, you turn right, where a trachytic dome appears. At the next intersection, you turn right again, now along Rua Ilha da Sabrina, towards the lava fajã of Ferraria.

On the descent to the fajã, the fossil cliff reveals pumice outcrops from the Vulcão das Sete Cidades, covered by pyroclastic layers coming from Pico das Camarinhas. Reaching the base, you continue to the right, next to an ignimbrite outcrop and some dykes in the cliff face. The trail follows the contour of the fajã, revealing recesses, arches and a pseudocrater, an uncommon geological formation resulting from a phreatic explosion. In the basaltic rocks of Ferraria, xenoliths can also be observed—small rock fragments torn from depth and transported to the surface by the lava flow.

Further ahead you will find the natural thermal pool of Ferraria, where, at low tide, it is possible to bathe in the sea with waters above 30 ºC. These thermal springs were the origin of the Ferraria Thermal SPA. The trail closes the circuit returning to Miradouro da Ilha de Sabrina, where it ends.