A guide to Sete Cidades
Views fit for a King
Posted by: Josh, 31 January 2026
A hiker’s paradise, Sete Cidades is an active volcanic area on São Miguel in the Azores islands.
It has the most beautiful view I’ve seen in Europe.
The view over the Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde from Vista do Rei in Sete Cidades is even better in real life than in pictures
Sete Cidades, which translates to 'Seven Cities', first emerged from the ocean around 210,000 years ago. The caldera that you walk along the ridge of today followed the collapse of a volcano around 22,000 years ago, and the area inside and around the caldera's edge has been shaped by 10s of subsequent eruptions. While hiking along the ridge, you can actually see the history of the landscape around you - with domes and troughs dotted inside and around the circumference of the caldera, all formed by later explosions and lava flows.
The last eruptions of any real note were in 1811, when an under-water eruption created the short-lived island of Sabrina, and a larger eruption in 1444 shortly after São Miguel was settled by the Portuguese.
But enough of the geology. Nurtured by the volcanic soil, the area around Sete Cidades is full of plants, birds and animals living close to some of the prettiest lakes you’re ever likely to see - all unspoilt by the overdevelopment that sadly affects so many other areas of natural beauty.
The most famous of the views is the Vista do Rei, the King’s View, which is even more spectacular in real life as in the pictures you’ve seen on InstaTok and your favourite travel guides (we’re flattered, thanks).
But there’s much, much more to see than just this one viewpoint. The full Sete Cidades viewpoint trail will take somewhere around 9 hours to hike, assuming you’re not stopping too long to admire the views, and any number of lake and ocean views on your walk may take your breath away just as much as the Vista do Rei.
Here’s what else to know.
Contents
Hiking
The Vista do Rei trail
If you only have one day in Sete Cidades, consider following the Vista Do Rei (PRC03SMI) trail. Guides such as the one we’ve linked to on All Trails will generally advise this trail takes around 5 hours to walk, but you must keep in mind that the trail isn’t a loop. If you’re planning on walking back to town and can't find a shortcut, budget several hours more for it.
We started this trail from the end in the town of Sete Cidades and found it pretty easy. You will be going uphill, but rarely as steeply as on some of the paths to the viewpoints overlooking Lake Furnas, for instance.
This is a walk you could never get tired of doing. Starting by the shore of the lake, where you too might encounter the cartoonishly cute duck that came waddling out of the reeds to greet us – honestly, it was like a scene from an animated Pokémon series – you’ll head up the ridge of the caldera to be greeted by panoramic views of the open-ocean to one side, and the exquisite greenery and volcanic landscape inside the caldera on the other.
You’ll also see a lot of cows. This is São Miguel, after all.
Sao Miguel is known as the land of the happy cows. It's not hard to see why
Some of the walk is nicely shaded, as you walk through a pine forest on the way up to Vista do Rei, but you’ll want to bring sun cream as most of the walk is out in the open.
If you’d like advice on a reasonably quick route back down, from Vista do Rei we followed the main road back down the mountain. If you open your favourite maps app, you’ll see the road forks in three directions at one point – stick to the left, heading all the way down to the Miradouro do Cerrado das Freiras, then further along the main road which eventually divides the Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde. The lakes will disappear from view for stretches of this walk, but we appreciated the change of scenery as it gave us chance to appreciate some of the hills around us – and to feel like we were seeing a slightly less well-known part of the region.
All told, the route down took just over two hours – leaving us enough time to get a quick drink at a bar near the lake before catching the last bus back to Ponta Delgada.
It's not just the Vista do Rei. Sete Cidades has dozens of picture-perfect spots to stumble across on a long day of walking
A longer route
The Sete Cidades viewpoints trail is a much longer walk, which will take you past all the main sights in the area. Though Liz and I are regular hikers, we probably couldn’t have completed this trail in a day – not while making the most of it, at least. All Trails advises the route can be completed in as little as seven hours but if you’re stopping to take pictures, to eat any food you bring with you, or just to stand and bask in the views for a while, you might find it takes much more time than that.
When Liz and I visit São Miguel again – and it really is a when, not an if – we might consider staying in Sete Cidades for a night or two to complete more of this longer trail at the relaxed pace that suits us. If you can spare the time and the money, it’s worth thinking about.
The town of Sete Cidades is quite small, but there are a few places to stay if you want to spend a night there
How long to stay
If we were doing this again – and we will, soon – we’d have booked to stay for a night or two.
That would have given us enough time to do all of the hikes, to take a kayak out onto the lake, and to take a day off after so much walking elsewhere in the Azores. A cute holiday home close to the lake, where we could cook our own food for a night or two and relax with a little bit of vinho verde, or a pineapple liqueur procured from a plantation in Ponta Delgada, feels pretty appealing as I sit writing this guide in a chilly London flat. An overnight stay would also give the benefit, as an anxious traveller, of less worrying about having to catch the last bus back.
If you’re on a time or financial budget though, you can see the main sights on a day trip to Sete Cidades. There aren’t a huge choice of restaurants or other things to do besides hiking or paddling on the lake, so a longer stay isn’t necessary.
Depending on how long you’re staying in São Miguel, I’d want to budget at least one day to look around Ponta Delgada and another day or two to visit Furnas, which was perhaps our favourite place of our first stay in the Azores.
You also might want to leave an extra day in your Azores holiday schedule to visit Lagoa do Fogo and to take a tour of the caverns there. If that means only doing one day in Sete Cidades, you won’t be missing out too much.
You can just about see the ripples on the lake, caused by winds whipping across the surface. It's hypnotizing to watch
A guided tour, or make your own way there: The pros and cons
Deciding whether to take a tour or to make your own way to Sete Cidades might not be easy.
A tour is the most convenient way to go. There are lots of quality operators to choose from and you’ll be driven to see the main sights, without working up as much of a sweat as me and Liz did on our hike. It’s a good option for anyone with accessibility requirements, or anyone who finds the concept of a long walk just a bit dull. It’s also not a bad choice for anyone with anxiety about using public transport on their travels, as buses to Sete Cidades from Ponta Delgada are infrequent, often delayed, and pretty slow.
The downsides of a tour are the cost, of course, and the fact that you won’t get to see quite so much of the views along the different hiking routes. For example, the path we walked took us along ridge to one side of the crater, and from the top we had an amazing view down to the ocean on one side and the famously stunning view over the lakes on the other.
That part of the trail is not accessible by car, so you’d miss out on it by taking a driven tour. But you will still get to see the incredible views over the lakes from the Vista do Rei which are jaw-dropping enough on their own – and you’re bound to still see glimpses of ocean views from your car on the way up too.
You can see some of these views from your car on a guided tour of Sete Cidades, but a hike from town will give you more time to appreciate them.
If you can drive and have already decided to rent a car for your stay on Sao Miguel – not a bad choice, as walking between towns and villages on sometimes narrow roads can be a bit hair-raising – then I’d strongly consider making your own way to Sete Cidades. You’ll be able to see the area at your speed, choose which places you want to visit, and maybe even indulge in some of the activities on the lake.
With not a driving licence between us, we made our way to Sete Cidades on public transport. We’re veterans of long bus journeys and the coach from Ponta Delgada to Sete Cidades is perfectly comfy. It’s also cheap (costing around €3 – €5) and, once you’ve figured out where to catch the bus and made your peace with the fact it might be a bit late on your way home, reliable enough.
If you are travelling by bus and think you can rely on there being a taxi back, don't be so sure. You will need to get back in time for the last bus. We met one Canadian tourist who had taken a Bolt to Sete Cidades and was very worried after finding none were available going the opposite direction. The taxi rank near the bus stop was empty both times we passed it.
This road, which we walked down from Vista do Rei back to town, has enough room for pedestrians at the sides - we never felt unsafe. Still, don't walk in the middle of the road as some of the cars will be going pretty fast.
How to get there by public transport
If you’re looking to do a day trip to Sete Cidades from Ponta Delgada, take the 08:25 bus on weekdays from near the Tourism Office in Ponta Delgada and take the 16:25 bus back.
The bus will drop you off near a church in town, but you’ll need to cross the road to the little bus shelter for the return journey. It’s not well signposted, but you’re likely to see plenty of other tourists milling around there waiting for the same bus back. If in doubt, you can always ask at one of the nearby shops and the friendly staff will point you in the right direction.
On Saturdays, buses depart from Ponta Delgada at 07:15 and 07:50 onwards, while on Sundays you’ll need to take either the 08:30 or 09:00 bus – with the last bus leaving at 18:05.
You can find more details by reading this timetable, but I’d strongly advise picking up the most up-to-date timetable from the Ponta Delgada tourism office when you land in Sao Miguel to plan your journey. It’s worth checking with your driver if you need to transfer – while we were expecting to have to change bus midway through our journey back, our bus simply changed route number at a certain point.
All information is correct at the time of writing but - I cannot recommend this enough - pick up an up-to-date timetable as soon as you land.
The traditionally Azorean Igreja de São Nicolau is close to the bus stop in Sete Cidades
Useful tips
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Bring your sun cream and your mosquito spray. Most of your walk will be high up a mountain in unshaded areas, so you’re at risk of sunburn. And you’re walking round a huge, still body of water – ideal breeding territory for mosquitoes. While the Azores’ mosquitoes don’t carry any unpleasant diseases – breathe easy, fellow health-anxiety types – they can still bite.
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When you’re walking on roads, stick to the sides. As I mentioned earlier, the PRC03 trail takes you along main roads for part of the walk. While there are very few blind corners that I can recall, some of the drivers – including tour guides – are more familiar with the accelerator than the brake pedal.
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Buy any food and drink you want to bring on your hike while in Ponta Delgada, or wherever you may be staying. There aren’t many shops in Sete Cidades and those there are don’t have a huge amount of choice.
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Use the bathroom before setting off on your hike. We were surprised that there wasn’t a public bathroom near the Visto do Rei, nor anywhere else along the routes we walked. While it didn’t spoil the hike, we were both in a little bit of a rush to get back to the lakeside bar and its facilities by the end of our walk.
Final thoughts on Sete Cidades
Liz final thoughts
Sete Cidades is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, with its incredible views of the ocean and the land created by ancient volcanos all around.
I'm glad we were able to get here by public transport, but you won't miss out on much if you decide to take a tour too.
My only regret is that we couldn't stay longer!
Josh final thoughts
The nit-pickiest of nit-picks is that the buses are too few and far between.
But even if you worry about using public transport on your holiday, don't let that stop you visiting Sete Cidades. If you are concerned about the buses, but you don't want to take a guided tour, budget so that you can afford to stay overnight and take one of the earlier buses home the next day - or ask your hotel to arrange for a taxi to meet you at a certain time and location in town to get you home.
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It is so beautiful there. I would love to hike around this area. Thanks for sharing and all the tips!
My husband and I love to hike. This would definitely be a hike worth hefting hiking boots and poles to Europe for.
What in incredible hike. Well worth all the time it takes to get there (and back) from what I see. It's good that you can get there and back via public transit too rather than needing a car which is often the case for many popular hikes