Pico do Ferro Viewpoint

The railing at the top hands over the whole Furnas crater at once: the lake filling the floor, the parish of Furnas along its shore, forest running down the inner slopes and other towns showing beyond the rim. Benches stand on the terrace, and people stay a while rather than snapping a frame and driving on. In late May the rhododendrons along the top come into flower and the colour reworks the whole scene. The crater belongs to the Azores UNESCO Global Geopark, so what sits below the railing is a volcanic caldera with a lake in it, seen from the edge.

• No toilets at the viewpoint. The nearest ones, about 400 m off, belong to businesses and are for customers.
• The walk up is steep. At the fork above the car park keep right; the left-hand branch is the slower way up.
• No drinking water nearby. Bring a bottle — there is nothing to fill it from within 800 m.
• Clear weather makes the view. Under low cloud the lake goes grey and the far rim disappears.
• A souvenir stall run by a local woman stands in the car park below.

Everyone arrives by car. The road ends at an asphalt car park about 50 m below the railing, and the last stretch is on foot and steep. At the fork above the car park keep right — that branch climbs faster than the left one. Cars can also carry on up to the viewpoint itself instead of stopping in the lower car park, which is where the souvenir stall is.

Better: clear, sunny days, and late May, when the rhododendrons along the top are in flower.

Avoid: low cloud and heavy overcast.

The depth of the crater below the railing is the whole point here, and it only reads when the air is clear: on a grey day the lake loses its colour and the far side of the rim vanishes altogether.