Prainha do Norte

This circular route starts in the heart of Prainha, at Largo Dr. José Machado Serpa. This is where several reference points of the parish are concentrated: the Church of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, the Parish Council, the headquarters of the Philharmonic Society, the bandstand and the Império do Espírito Santo.

Shortly after, the path opens onto a rural landscape made up of small farms, orchards and vineyards, the latter protected by the characteristic black basalt stone walls of the Pico. Connected to this winemaking tradition are the old wineries, today repurposed as holiday homes and rural tourism accommodation. Near Baía do Canto da Areia, you cross the old vineyard of Morro: abandoned long ago, it has been taken over by coastal heathland vegetation including heather (Erica azorica), whitewood (Picconia azorica) and Azores myrtle (Morella faya). It is an area of great natural wealth, with endemic flora and fauna, and an important nesting site for the Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris borealis), a seabird protected by national and international legislation, which is why it is classified as a Protected Area for Habitat and Species Management, integrated into the Natural Park of the Island of Pico.

From the viewpoint at Ponta da Rocha, you can enjoy a beautiful panorama over the parishes of Santo Amaro and Prainha. Along the trail you will also come across valuable built heritage: the ruins of one of the first residential settlements of the parish and of the island itself; the Casa do Fio, a modest building where residents once gathered to transform carded wool into thread and which also served as a mooring point for the submarine telephone cable; and the Ermida de São Pedro, whose cross rests on a block of stone carved with a human face.

The old stone bridges and the so-called “pasture collection houses”, used to store tools, agricultural products or animal fodder, also deserve attention. Further towards the sea, you pass a tidal pool and a rotating windmill, and there are two bathing areas that invite a break: Canto da Areia, one of the rare sandy beaches on the island, and Poça Branca, a natural pool with crystal-clear waters. The return is made to the same starting square, from where you can see the neighbouring island of São Jorge.