Boca do Risco

The ridge opens and the ground goes over the edge. From the pass at 360 metres the coastline runs away in cliffs with the Atlantic working at the foot of them, and the walking is what people come here for. Two trails leave for Porto da Cruz — one hugging the coast, one over the mountain — and the coastal side hands out viewpoints with nobody standing on them. One visitor recommended staying for the sunset. Do not push all the way to the highest point of the climb: vegetation closes the view up there, and the drop reads better from a little lower down.

• No facilities: there are no toilets and no drinking water anywhere near the pass, so carry what you plan to drink.
• Cover your arms and legs: the climb up to the pass pushes through vegetation that scratches and cuts.
• Nothing is explained on site: a guidepost stands at the pass, but no information boards were found — walkers work the routes out from a trail app.
• The ground keeps climbing past the pass: one party turned back when the right-hand trail got steeper than they wanted.

Everyone arrives at the pass on foot. Drivers stop in the village below and start walking there: the last street towards the trailhead is narrow and steep, and one driver gave up on it rather than take the car up, having seen nothing to park on higher. The way in follows the road uphill until it meets the coast — an hour of climbing at a fit pace — and the cliff path carries on to the pass from there. The approach from the Porto da Cruz side is the gentle one, with the coast in view along the way.

Best: afternoon, and on to sunset if you can wait.

Avoid: setting off with the whole traverse in mind unless the day is long — beyond the pass the ground keeps climbing, and one party gained only 150 metres of height in an hour on the right-hand trail before turning back.

The afternoon walk comes out quiet, with viewpoints empty of people; stay for the sunset and the descent is in the dark, so carry a torch.