Boa Morte Viewpoint

The terrace hangs over a green shoulder of cliff with the ocean filling everything below it. Cloud streams over from the north, so the view rearranges itself while you stand there and the cliff face comes and goes. A bench sits on the terrace, angled at the drop — that is the photograph everyone takes here.

It stays a calm place. Late afternoon tends to be quiet, with room on the terrace and space in the car park, and the drive in along the clifftop is half the outing. From here the path carries on to Miradouro do Pico Vermelho, 15–20 minutes each way, which turns a photo stop into a proper hour out.

• Parking — the car park sits below the viewpoint, about 276 m off in a straight line, and there is usually room.
• On foot — roughly 100 m from the car park to the terrace; the path on to Miradouro do Pico Vermelho takes 15–20 minutes each way.
• Toilets and water — free public toilets about 230 m from the viewpoint, and a water point closer in.
• Weather decides it — cloud comes over from the north and can close the view down completely; there is nothing else to do here when it does.

The viewpoint is reached by road at Lombada Velha, and the drive in is part of the outing. Cars are left at the bottom, about 276 metres from the viewpoint as the crow flies, and the last stretch is a walk of roughly 100 metres to the terrace. Guideposts stand near the viewpoint and mark the path that carries on along the cliffs to Miradouro do Pico Vermelho, 15–20 minutes away. The nearest bus stop, Lombada Velha, lies about 745 metres off in a straight line, so most people arrive by car.

Best: late afternoon, when the terrace tends to be quiet and there is space in the car park.

Avoid: days when cloud is streaming in from the north — the cliffs and the sea disappear behind it.

The view is the whole reason to come, so the weather decides the visit far more than the hour does.