Pico island, in the central group of the Azores, is dominated by the conical outline of the volcano of the same name, Portugal's highest mountain at 2,351 metres. It is the archipelago's second largest island but thinly populated, divided into three municipalities: Madalena, the main port facing Horta, Lajes do Pico and São Roque do Pico.
Climbing Pico
Climbing to the summit of Pico is one of the most thrilling experiences in the Azores. You start from the Casa da Montanha, at about 1,200 metres, where you must register and receive a tracking device; the steep trail over volcanic rock usually takes three to four hours up and a little less down. At the top, from the crater, you climb Piquinho, a small cone that still gives off steam. On clear days you can see the neighbouring islands. The weather can change quickly: going with a guide is advisable.
The lava vineyards
Along the west coast, at Criação Velha and Lajido de Santa Luzia, is one of the most extraordinary landscapes in the world: thousands of small rectangular enclosures, the currais, formed by black lava-stone walls that protect the vines from wind and salt spray. The Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. A fortified Verdelho wine was made here and in the nineteenth century was exported as far as the court of the Russian tsars; today the island makes excellent whites. The Madalena wine museum is in an old Carmelite convent among centuries-old dragon trees.
Whales and whalers
Pico was the capital of Azorean whaling, carried out with small rowing boats and hand harpoons until 1987. The Whalers' Museum in Lajes do Pico and the Whaling Industry Museum in São Roque tell this epic. Today Lajes is one of the best places in the world for whale watching: sperm whales are seen all year, along with dolphins, and in spring blue and fin whales. The old vigias, the whalers' lookout towers, are used to guide the tourist boats.
Nature
Gruta das Torres is Portugal's longest lava tube, about five kilometres long, partly open to guided visits. The interior has lakes, Azorean cedar woods and pastures. Pico is reached by ferry from Faial (about 30 minutes) or by plane from Lisbon and the other islands.