Editor’s note: if you’ve been a regular follower of The Royal Tour, you’d recognize this as the second in Morgan’s series on the Azores. Her first, on Sao Miguel, can be found here. One thing is immediately apparent: these islands are all distinct and differ greatly from each other! For more of Morgan’s writing, click here to visit her index page.

In the volcanic Açores (anglicized “Azores”) Islands archipelago, you’ll find that one island stands far taller than the rest; in fact, its peak is the tallest point in Portugal, despite not being a typical mountain! Pico, which means “peak” in Portuguese, is the name of both the island and
the stratovolcano that wows visitors of nearby islands with its imposing presence.

Climbing Mount Pico

Standing at Pico’s 7713-foot peak, looking over the Atlantic Ocean at breathtaking views of the other Açores islands, I marveled at our exhausting yet satisfying accomplishment.

Since I’m not an incredibly fit or super seasoned climber, we deliberated quite a bit about whether we should climb Pico at all. The climb, after all, takes a full eight hours and covers an elevation change of 3700 feet over roughly 2.5 miles. It seemed challenging, to say the least! Yet somehow I even considered an overnight climb, seeking the awe-inspiring sunrise above the clouds at 7713 feet as the reward for the trek. Ultimately, though, we realized the wiser decision would be to summit Pico during the day.

For large unknown treks like this, I prefer to hire a local guide; they can often point out natural phenomena, geological formations, flora, and fauna that we wouldn’t notice on our own. They’re also better equipped for emergencies and unexpected situations – plus they often know the best spots to eat and visit after the adventure!

Our local guide, Renato, who described the mountain as both his girlfriend and his office, was no exception – and seems to be somewhat famous for his multitude of Pico climbs. Outfitted with crampons and hiking sticks, we picked up our GPS trackers and hit the trail.

By “trail” I mean “not at all a trail.” I was certainly not prepared for the slippery volcanic rock and lack of clearly indicated waypoints to assist us on the climb, and we noted the value of Renato’s bubbly presence immediately. He led us up a grueling climb over melting ice (which disappeared by the time we hiked back down) and crumbling gravel, our hearts pumping as the altitude increased sharply. After finally summiting the peak, the first arrivals of the day, we gratefully devoured some sandwiches and drank hot tea in our parkas; we were the only people at the top until an Austrian woman casually strolled up in shorts and smoked a cigarette while drinking a beer before easily sauntering back down the mountain.

Pico’s UNESCO Vineyards

The mountain isn’t the only stunning sight on Pico Island, however. The black volcanic stone, stacked into short walls, winds its way across the land in seemingly random configurations. These little walls, surprisingly, contain grapevines! During vineyard tours throughout California, Italy, and other places, I’d never seen vineyards that looked like cubicles for roughly two to three vines each.

The design is meant to protect the vines from the strong winds and unpredictable weather, since the Açores act as a weather break for the mainland, and since the volcano creates its own weather pattern that frequently includes a ring of clouds. These unique vineyard setups, along with the nutrient-rich volcanic soil, produce some incredible volcanic wine. Pico’s vineyards are now a protected UNESCO world heritage site, since they exemplify the local farmers’ adaptation to such a tricky environment to grow in, dating back to the 15th century.

Our curiosity about the viniculture, paired with some extra time, led us to visit Pico’s wine museum, Museu do Vinho, where we learned the history of those walls (called currais, or “corrals”). Among the centuries-old buildings, made of the same volcanic stone as the currais, we combed through interactive exhibits that demonstrated the history of difficult farming on Pico, and the necessity for the currais to shelter the vines from wind and ocean salt spray, as well as the devastating affects of vegetation disease brought from the Americas in the 19th century.

Dragon Trees

At the museum we also stumbled upon the enchanting Shrine of the Dragon Trees, which, with their massive root structures appearing to pull the plant out of the rocky ground and wide umbrella-like canopies, look like no plant I’d seen before.

Dragon trees are endemic to the Açores, and were often used for their dark red dye in the 15th through 19th centuries (the same period when wine production was at its height on Pico). The shrine includes the largest specimens of dragon trees in all of Macronesia, or the entire area they grow. The dragon trees that make up the shrine are over 100 years old.

Pico’s Geology

The mountain, currais, and historical architecture on Pico all seem to be made of the same black basalt rocks. That’s because the Açores Islands are new, geologically speaking, and Pico is the newest of them all, at less than 300,000 years old (though parts of at least one other Açores island are newer, which I’ll cover in a subsequent article). The volcanic activity that created Pico has resulted in mostly those black basalt rocks seen everywhere, and quite a few examples of interesting lava flows abound.

Surprisingly, Pico is connected beneath the water to another of the islands, Faial. Pico itself has two volcanic structures: the peak is a stratovolcano, but on the other side of the island sits a volcanic ridge.

On a visit to the Açores islands, I certainly recommend a visit to Pico – the adventure pairs well with a lovely glass of volcanic wine, even if you choose to skip the climb to the top.

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