A guide to Terceira

The cows fought for it so that you can enjoy it

Posted by: Josh, 7 February 2026

High cliffs along the coast of Terceira, with patchwork fields and a small town on the land above. The ocean below the cliffs is calm

Terceira has huge expanses of greenery, with small towns and villages dotted sparsely across the island

Terceira, in the central group of the Azores Islands, has beautiful scenery and a fascinating history.

Once saved from Spanish invasion by a battalion of cows – no, really – Terceira is today the second most populous island in this Portuguese archipelago.

It’s best known by tourists for the Algar do Carvão, a vast lava cave leading to an open chimney covered in moss all the way to the surface. Sadly closed until June 2026 to allow for the construction of a tourism centre at the site, there’s nonetheless enough sights to see to make a few days on Terceira worthwhile.

While getting to Terceira is not as easy as island hopping between the other islands of the central grouping for much of the year – find out more in the Getting to Terceira section below – those who make the journey will find beautiful views of Patchwork Fields, a quaint and peaceful capital city, and several very lovely hiking trails.

Here’s what to know about the Lilac Island.

A steep cobbled road leading down Monte Brasil in Terceira. In the background is Angra do Heroismo, and further behind are fields covered in low cloud

A rooster's head peeking over tall grass and branches on Monte Brasil

Monte Brasil in Terceira is a place to see great views and wild chickens. As a combination, it's hard to beat

What to do in Terceira

Hiking

While not as famed for its hikes as São Miguel, Terceira has more than enough trails worth walking along.

If you’re staying in Angra do Heroismo, it’s well worth the short walk out of town to explore Monte Brasil. The full Monte Brasil trail (PRC04TER) can be completed in around two and a half hours and is a delight on a sunny day. If, like us, you're the type to take detours onto the side trails and enjoy stopping to admire the views, you might want to budget around an hour to 90 minutes more for your walk.

A hike on Monte Brasil will reward you with views of the Atlantic Ocean, a long stretch of Terceira’s coastline and, if you’re as lucky as we were, you might even spot a deer or two along the trail.

Along the way you’ll pass some wooden huts which have been added as homes for the colony of feral cats which call Monte Brasil home. Not all of them are friendly, although one cat did repeatedly stop us on the footpath to demand more cuddles.

A cute kitten laid on the ground at a cat sanctuary on Monte Brasil, Terceira

A small roe deer grazing next to a path in front of a tree on Monte Brasil, Tercerira

Roe deer are a common sight on Monte Brasil

Monte Brasil is also home to a group of structures carved out of the rock which some academics believe to be hypogea, man-made structures created by people who may have inhabited the Azores islands before the Portuguese settled them in the 15th century. There is some debate about whether these really are evidence of an ancient people living on Terceira and, after a fair bit of reading, I’m still no more certain what to believe. You'll just have to visit and decide for yourself.

Other hikes you might like to consider are the Pedra Furada da Serra da Ribeirinha (PRC11TER) trail, which passes along a road overlooking the Patchwork Fields, and the Misterios Negros trail (PRC01TER). This is a short but challenging trail starting near Lagoa do Negro, next to the Gruto do Natal, which we only did a short stretch of while on a tour of the island. This trail takes you past three other small lakes and through plenty of native Azorean flora, but be aware that it’s reportedly an even tougher, slippier walk after rain.

As with other parts of the Azores, if you have a car and can explore the island at a slower pace, you’ll be rewarded for stopping and walking in many other areas of natural beauty. Terceira is a beautifully green island, with any number of picturesque places to walk around. Some of that greenery comes from the many varieties of thick moss that grow here, in the same family as the type that you’d find in a terrarium, at least one of which was until recently believed to only grow in the Americas.

A row of houses on a hill outside of Angra do Heroismo

A distant view of Praia di Vitoria in Terceira, with patchwork fields in the foreground

We stayed in Angra do Heroismo (left) while in Terceira. But Praia da Vitoria (right) looked equally pretty, and it has a slightly bigger beach if you're keen to spend a day or two by the sea

Algar do Carvão and Gruto do Natal

Algar do Carvão is currently closed but is expected to reopen in June 2026 once a new visitor centre is completed. If we have time to make it back to Terceira on our next visit to the Azores, we’ll update this guide.

As Algar do Carvão was closed in 2025, we instead went to Gruta do Natal, the Christmas Caves, a 700m long cave under the Lagoa do Negro. While it’s not expert-level caving, I don’t recommend this activity for anyone who suffers from claustrophobia. You will have to crouch very low to squeeze through some of the ancient magma tunnels and there isn’t an alternative route to take.

For those happy in a damp and narrow underground cave – I feel a bit weird admitting that that’s me, having written it like that – it’s an interesting experience, albeit not one I’d travel all the way to Terceira for alone. It isn't every day that you get to walk through caverns carved out by magma and the explosions caused by gases trapped under the surface, and as a way to fully appreciate the power of the volcanoes that formed the Azores it’s tough to beat.

Algar do Carvão and Gruto do Natal

The patchwork fields in Terceira, the Azores. In two of the fields are herds of cows. In the distance is the ocean

Terceira's patchwork fields are an extraordinary sight, stretching for miles to the ocean in one direction and into mountains in the other

Patchwork Fields

A trip to Terceira wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Serra do Cume viewpoint to see the Patchwork fields.

As a Yorkshireman, I don't like to admit that many things can rival the Yorkshire Dales' rolling hills and dry stone walls... but I have to make an exception for Terceira.

In many ways, the two places are quite similar. Both maintain the rural, farming traditions of their area, both have lush (and often soggy) green fields separated by low hand-made walls - in Yorkshire, made from limestone; in Terceira, from local volcanic rock - and both are inhabited by warm and welcoming communities who rightly have huge pride in their homes' natural beauty.

But only Terceira pairs all of that with the ocean views you can see in the picture above. Looking out from Serra do Cume at the seemingly endless ocean laid out behind the miles upon miles of quilt-like fields, I finally felt a true sense of just how geographically isolated the Azores are from the rest of the world.

Terceira's Patchwork Fields

What to do in Angra do Heroismo

Angra do Heroismo

The capital of Terceira, Angra do Heroismo is a quiet but pretty town with enough options to eat and drink to keep any tourist happy for a few days.

The Angra do Heroismo museum is open six days a week (closed Mondays) from 10:00 – 17:30. As Liz and I always seem to do, we headed for the museum on the first day of our stay. There, we found exhibits that introduced us to the history of the Azores and Terceira’s place in the islands’ colonisation - Terceira means ‘Third’ in Portuguese, referring to the order in which the islands were discovered – and in the historic conflict between Spain and Portugal. You can also learn about the islands’ geology, the earthquake that struck Terceira in 1980, and a bit about the local culture. You don’t need to budget a whole day’s time here; a few hours will be enough to see all there is to see.

The museum is conveniently close to the Duke of Terceira Garden, a small and well-maintained public space. We spent a good hour or so wandering around, a good chunk of which was spent spotting and watching the many frogs jumping in and out of the ponds and making a remarkably big noise for such a tiny amphibian.

A small frog perched on a rock in the Duke of Terceira Garden in Angra do Heroismo

A small green frog swimming in a pool in the Duke of Terceira Garden. Light rain is causing ripples on the water

There are hundreds of these little frogs living in the Duke of Terceira Garden in Angra do Heroismo

Alternately, if you want to be a bit more active, scuba diving and snorkelling are available off the coast of Terceira. You can book online through all the usual activity providers – Get Your Guide, Viator and the like – or you can do as we did and wander through the harbour area to find the provider that suits you best.

The best time to snorkel and dive is July to October when the waters are warmest and Manta Rays migrate to the Azores islands. You’re also more likely to see some shark species – not the type that are any threat to humans, if the thought is making you break out in a cold sweat – at this time.

We visited in May and went snorkelling. You’ll want a thick wetsuit as the water temperature was only around 15 degrees Celsius. As our instructor had warned us, the water in May isn’t entirely clear. But on a sunny day, the visibility was actually a bit better than we’d been made to expect. We could see around 10-12 metres down from the surface, just enough to spot one young stingray swimming quickly just above the ocean floor, until it buried itself below the sand.

We’d happily dive again in Terceira if we go back to see Algar do Carvão when it reopens. But we’re even more keen to try scuba diving around Pico, as both our guides recommended it as the best island for diving in the Azores.

Angra do Heroismo's beach, sheltered in a bay. The town can be seen stretched out in a looped shape behind, wrapped around some green space.

A small crab bathing in the sun on a rock near the Angra do Heroismo harbour

The beach in Angra do Heroismo is small, perfectly formed, and often very quiet. Liz and I went for a quick and chilly swim in the rain a couple of days after taking this picture on our Monte Brasil hike

Whale and dolphin watching

If you want to go whale watching, the three central group of islands closest to each other – Pico, Faial, and Sao Jorge – are the best to visit.

But you can go whale and dolphin watching from Terceira and other islands too and still expect to see something.
The best time of year is April and early May when you’re more likely to see blue, humpback and fin whales in addition to species that stay in the waters near the islands year-round, such as sperm whales and various dolphin species.

We went whale and dolphin watching from São Miguel, where the experience will be very similar to the one you can expect from Terceira. Many of the same operators work from both islands.

You can take either a catamaran which will be much comfier and more refined but can’t get too close to the whales or dolphins without disturbing them, or a zodiac (a large rigid inflatable speedboat) which can get much closer but will most likely leave you soaking wet, however hard you try to cover up in waterproofs.

Josh peering over the side of a Zodiac boat. Small islands are in the background

A dolphin seen from a Zodiac boat on a whale watching trip from Sao Miguel

Dolphins: Pretty cool! My waterproofs: less so.

You’re advised not to take zodiacs if you have back or joint problems, or certain other health conditions. I cannot overstate how important that is. Our tour was a spine-rattlingly bumpy ride, particularly when the weather conditions started to turn on our way back. You don’t want to be spending 45 minutes bouncing around on a speedboat in choppy waters unless you’re certain you can handle it.

We only saw dolphins on our trip from São Miguel, which was on a partly cloudy day – making finding the whale and dolphin pods much harder for the spotters dotted around viewpoints across the island. It was undoubtedly still absolutely worth the trip though. While our zodiac ride was very bumpy – the back would have been smoother than our seats at the front – the boats are driven responsibly and the wildlife is treated with respect.

We encountered two different pods of dolphins. Both times we did, the driver cut the engines and allowed the group to approach us if they were interested. What followed was 10-15 minutes gently bobbing on the ocean, as dolphins swam under us, next to us, and in front of us – some of them performing the sorts of acrobatics I’d thought were only carried out by trained animals in captivity. Even after we set off, one pod followed for a long time until finally losing interest.

How to get to Terceira

Getting to Terceira

Terceira's patchwork fields. These fields are on mostly flat ground and are neatly divided into rectangles by volcanic stone walls

It's unusual to see so many fields in Terceira without seeing at least one cow. Though there aren't 125,000 of them as some sites claim - that's the estimate for all of the Azores - there is a huge dairy industry on the island

For most of the year, your best option is to fly to Lisbon, Porto or São Miguel and take a second flight from there to Terceira.

While that might sound more hassle than you’d want for a holiday within Europe, you could consider breaking up the journey by staying for a few days in your first stop before transferring. I really enjoyed our long weekend in Lisbon before travelling to the Azores, São Miguel is captivating, and Liz swears that Porto is well worth a trip too (cheekily, she visited before we’d met).

Between June and September, you also have the option to take the Linha Lilás (Purple Line) ferry from other central group islands: Faial, Pico and São Jorge.

For those anxious about flying, the intra-island flights are on turboprop planes. This shouldn’t worry you – the model used by SATA Air Açores has an exemplary safety record and is every bit as comfortable as a typical jet-engine plane – but I can see how it might take you a bit by surprise on arrival at the airport.

If you tend to get anxious during plane journeys, maybe it'll be some reassurance to hear that I actually found the intra-island flight less stressful than most other flights I've taken. The worst part of flying, to me, is the long wait between the start of the plane accelerating and getting off the ground. These lighter and slightly smaller planes get off the ground reassuringly quickly.

Getting around on public transport

The beach in Angra do Heroismo, Terceira

Steps on a path on Monte Brasil in Terceira

Terceira isn't the easiest island to get around without a car

Getting around Terceira without a car is difficult. Buses don’t go to all the places you might be keen to visit – you can’t, for example, get to the Gruto do Notal and Misterios Negros trail by bus – and what routes there are run very infrequently. You can check the most up-to-date routes and timetables on mobiazores.

Buses do run from the airport to the capital, Angra do Heroismo, though we had a very long wait on arrival. Consider taking a taxi to your hotel on arrival, if you’re not renting a car.

It’s difficult to walk between towns and villages on Terceira. The roads are narrow and often have no path to the side of them, and many drivers treat speed limits as friendly suggestions rather than strict rules.

If you’ve read our other posts, you’ll have realised by now that Liz and I are animal lovers and we’re generally pretty confident with how to manage any strays we meet. In parts of the Azores though, we were worried by some of the dogs we encountered – almost exclusively larger breeds being kept as pets, guard dogs, or some combination of the two. While walking a mile or two back to Angra do Heroismo a couple of larger dogs loudly let us know they were there, and given their body language I’m pretty sure they could have gone a step further had we not very carefully and slowly moved away.

So if you can’t drive, I’d recommend taking tours to anywhere you’re keen to visit.

A sheltered area by the shore of Terceira, with colourful houses on the land

Buildings close to the beach in Angra do Heroismo. Most are three to four stories tall and painted white. The blue and white church can be seen behind the nearest buildings

Among the many, many things I love about the Azores is the architecture of the buildings. Though the main road through Angra do Heroismo is fairly busy, most parts of the town are cute, peaceful and soothing to stroll around

There are a good number of tour operators, so you should be able to visit all the places you want to see if you book a short time in advance. A full day’s tour will give you a decent glimpse of most of the main sights, particularly with Algar do Carvao currently off-limits to tourists.

One tour took us from the Patchwork Fields, through the middle of the island with stops to walk around some ancient forest areas, and then to the Gruto do Natal. We stopped off at a cheesemaking factory on the journey back to Angra do Heroismo to sample some local offerings, all of which were much milder than the delicious mature Sao Jorge cheeses you’ll frequently find elsewhere.

All told, a very lovely day out… until our guide asked us about our views on Brexit (a minor faux pas), wildly misunderstood our answer (English isn’t his first language, we get it), and proceeded to offer some strikingly right-wing takes on immigration and society more broadly (oh, oh no).

We quickly made our excuses – “wouldn’t it be nice to walk along the coast at sunset?” – and trekked the last mile or two back to Angra. If you’re considering booking a tour and want to ask about any providers, find our email address in the footer.

Where to eat and drink in Terceira

Where to eat and drink

Two places stand out for brunch. Bainema serves good food and a good enough coffee, while Melita brunch and coffee serves the best coffee on the island with almost equally good food.

Melita is conveniently close to Monte Brasil, making it a good choice for a filling lunch here before a walk. We made sure to stop by again for another coffee before leaving, a couple of days later.

Mercatto di Osteria is well-reviewed and looked nice enough inside to tempt us in, but wasn’t worth the price for simple Italian food.

While we tried quite a few different places, we didn’t manage to find any Portuguese or Azorean fare that stood out to us. That's not to say the food is bad, just that we didn't stumble across anywhere the food was particularly memorable.

It was a bit of a challenge to find good vegetarian options. Although the restaurant only offered one vegetarian main course when we visited, the best vegetarian meal I had was the Bras de Cogumelos e Espargos – fried mushrooms, potatoes and asparagus – at Quinta dos Acores Grill, by the harbour.

Useful tips

Rent a car. Liz and I don’t drive and still had a good time on Terceira, but it sadly is a destination where a driving licence is needed to get the most out of a visit.

The timing of your visit really matters. If you can wait until June or July 2026 to visit when the new visitor centre is open at Algar do Carvão, I’d recommend that you do. The island will likely get a bit busier again once its main attraction reopens, but we found Terceira so quiet and spacious that a few more tourists wouldn’t be likely to spoil your trip in any way.

Final thoughts

Liz’s final thoughts

This little island is a haven for nature lovers or anyone who enjoys hiking. It’s incredibly green and full of wildlife, with beautiful views hiding around every corner. The air felt incredibly fresh and clean too.

Be aware that the weather in the Azores can change drastically in an instant – locals like to say they have every season in one day. Make sure you come prepared with layers, including a good raincoat.

Josh’s final thoughts

Terceira is a lovely place to visit and it was refreshing to be somewhere with fewer tourists after spending time in Lisbon. I loved breathing in the fresh air from our viewpoint over the Patchwork Fields, getting the first real taste of what the Azores are all about.

If we can find time on our next Azorean holiday to see the reopened Algar do Carvão, then I’ll gladly take the opportunity to revisit Terceira this year.

If there’s any delay in reopening though, we’ll probably leave Terceira out of the itinerary. While it’s a beautiful island, well worth visiting once, I’d prioritise returning to Furnas and Sete Cidades on São Miguel over a second trip to Terceira for now.