Terceira Island Full-Day Custom Tour

Monte Brasil is an extinct volcano with a fascinating history and unique natural beauty. Located on the island of Terceira, in the Azores, it stands out as the largest tuff cone in the archipelago. Volcanic Origin: It arose from an underwater eruption, forming a tuff cone with fossils of ancient vegetation. Peninsula: It occupies an area of 1.4 km² and is flanked by two beautiful bays. Crater: It has four elevations, offering panoramic views. Geological importance: It is a geosite of national relevance, with great scientific and tourist value.

Passing through the points of tourist interest

Among the best-known legends that seek to justify the toponymy, it is mentioned that Jácome de Bruges, first captain of the donatário, landed here on January 1, pressed by bad weather and the need for shelter on that date. As the harbor inlet is small, offering no great shelter, and because at that time everything that was bad was called "Jew," it is said that the anchorage was for that reason called Porto Judeu

The Battle of Salga was a clash fought on July 25, 1581 in the bay of Salga, in São Sebastião, in the jurisdiction of the extinct municipality of Vila de São Sebastião, Terceira, Azores, between a Spanish landing force and the Portuguese forces who, in the name of D. António I, defended the island in opposition to personal union with Spain.

In this area are the remains of what was a Military Fort to protect the coast against the invasion of the island by troops of other maritime powers in the 1500s and 1600s, which is part of a vast network of small and large forts that around the island of Terceira were built for the protection of precious gold shipments, silver, spices among other goods that arrived on this island from Asia, Africa and the Americas, mainly from Brazil.

The Church of São Sebastião, founded in the fifteenth century, has undergone several transformations over the centuries. Initially with Gothic characteristics, it was expanded in the sixteenth century with the addition of Manueline chapels. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, further expansions included the sacristy and baptistery. In 1789, a fire destroyed its interior, and reconstruction in 1795 brought a Baroque style. In the twentieth century, from 1964, a restoration process began to recover original elements. The 1812 inventory revealed a rich collection of silver ornaments, of which few objects remain today. The church is an important testimony to the evolution of religious architecture in the Azores.

Porto Martins Natural Pool: Natural pool based on dark stone resulting from volcanic activity. In the vicinity of the pool there is a pedestrian area that allows walks by the sea, allowing you to glimpse the remains of ancient fortifications that were part of the defensive system of Terceira Island.

It is the seat of the municipality of Praia da Vitória[3] with an area of 162.29 km² and 21,035 inhabitants, subdivided into 11 parishes. The municipality, one of the two on the island, is bordered to the south and west by the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo and by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east.

Biscoitos is a parish in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, located on the north coast. The locality was known as Biscoitos do Porto da Cruz, as it developed in the lava lands (the biscuits) located around Porto da Cruz, once an important fishing and whaling port. The lower part of the parish is one of the main wine-growing centers of the Azores, constituting both an area of protected landscape integrated in the Terceira Natural Park and a demarcated area of wine production in the traditional curraletas where liqueur white wines are produced from the cultivation of traditional grape varieties, especially verdelho.

It is a very extensive geological formation, resulting from the formation of a lava tube in the interior of the island, included in the Natural Forest Reserve of Serra de Santa Bárbara and Mistérios Negros. It has branches in the form of different tunnels, formed by lava flows in different directions. One of its curiosities is the fact that it is located largely under a lagoon, the Lagoa do Negro.

Volcanic chimney, which unlike what is usually seen in other cases is not completely obstructed. With a crater of 15 X 20 m, it ends 90 m below in a lagoon of clear waters.

They constitute a fumarolic field, that is, an area that comprises several outlets of aggressive volcanic gases, at different temperatures, some quite high (about 95º C at the surface and about 130º C at half a meter deep). Such degassing consists essentially of carbon dioxide (c. 95%), hydrogen sulphide gas, sulphur gas, hydrogen, nitrogen, methane and others, in very low proportions.