Hiking on Flores: the official trails, closures and getting back to your car

Flores has five official trails, and in September 2026 one of them and half of another were shut. The planning question is therefore which of the open routes to walk, how to get back to your car from a linear trail, and how much weather slack to leave. The regional register lists four short routes and one Grand Route on the island, and three of those five end in the same village, Fajã Grande. That makes Fajã Grande the natural base for walking, and it makes the transfer back to the start the part you have to organise.

The official register at trails.visitazores.com keeps a list of closed trails, and on Flores it matters. When we checked in September 2026, two things were marked:

• PR01FLO, Ponta Delgada to Fajã Grande, was listed as temporarily closed.
• Stage 2 of the Grand Route, Ponta Delgada to Lajedo, was marked closed. That stage overlaps with the western coastal paths.

The list changes during the year, so read the alerts page the week you travel and again on the morning you walk. The official leaflets ask you to do exactly that, and to tell someone which trail you are on.

This is the one to do if you only walk once, and it is the easiest of the linear routes.

• 13.2 km, about 3 hours 30, graded medium, linear.
• Starts at the parish church in Lajedo on the south-west coast and ends in Fajã Grande.
• The first 3 km cross three long valleys above the sea. Offshore, at Baixa Rasa, the liner Slavonia ran aground in June 1909; all 597 people on board were taken off.
• The middle section goes through Mosteiro, the least populated parish in Portugal according to the last census, and gives the best views of the Rocha dos Bordões, a wall of more than 200 basalt columns.
• The last part passes the Portal viewpoint above Fajãzinha and runs under the 300-metre cliff with its waterfalls into Fajã Grande.

The trade-off is the stream crossings. The official page warns that the rock is slippery after rain, and there are several water lines to cross. After a wet night, pick another day.

• 7 km, about 3 hours, graded hard, linear.
• Starts at the viewpoint between the Negra and Comprida lakes beside Regional Road 2-2, on the central plateau at roughly 650 metres.
• Passes the Seca and Branca lakes, crosses pasture above the west coast, then goes down the cliff on a stone staircase to Fajã Grande and on to the Poço do Bacalhau waterfall.

It is short but graded hard, and nearly all of it is downhill. The descent is about 650 metres, much of it on stone steps that are often wet. Poles help. The plateau makes its own weather: the leaflet warns about rain and fog and says that in fog it is easy to lose the waymarks.

• 3.4 km, about 2 hours, graded medium.
• Starts at the Fajã de Lopo Vaz picnic area on the south coast, near Lajes, and is the only way into the fajã.
• You go down and come back up by the same path, a stone staircase built by the settler the place is named after.

At the bottom is a landslide terrace under a cliff more than 350 metres high, facing full south. It is warm enough for figs and bananas, watered by a single spring from the cliff. The official page warns about falling rocks, which is the reason to keep moving under the cliff and to skip it after heavy rain. The climb back up the staircase is the hard part.

When it is open, this is the most dramatic walk on the island, and the most exposed.

• 12 km, about 4 hours 30, graded hard, linear.
• Starts in Ponta Delgada in the north, passes the Albernaz lighthouse, opened in 1925, and looks out at the Monchique islet, 1,500 metres offshore and the westernmost point of Europe.
• The last 4 km, from Rocha do Risco, follow the edge of the cliff down towards Fajã Grande.

The register says it is not recommended for anyone who suffers from vertigo, and it means it. It was closed when we checked in 2026, so treat it as a bonus if the alerts page shows it open, not as the centrepiece of the trip.

The Grand Route runs 47 km from Santa Cruz to Lajedo in two stages and is graded hard throughout.

• Stage 1, Santa Cruz to Ponta Delgada: 21 km, about 8 hours, along the north-east coast past valleys, islets and the bay of Alagoa, and past the Além Fazenda hydroelectric station, which supplies half of the island's electricity.
• Stage 2, Ponta Delgada to Lajedo: 26 km, about 10 hours, down the west coast. Marked closed in 2026.

Stage 1 is the one you can walk now, and it is a long day. The register notes that you can buy supplies and eat in the villages along the way, with restaurants in Ponta Delgada and Fajã Grande.

Every route here except Lopo Vaz is linear, and that is the logistical problem on Flores. Your options:

• A taxi to the start, leaving your car at the finish. This is the simplest arrangement; book it the evening before.
• Two cars, or a friend willing to drive round.
• The bus. UTC runs three lines on the island with two to four trips a day each, and as of 2023 there was no service at weekends or on public holidays. It can work for PR02 on a weekday if the timetable lines up, but check it locally.

Staying in Fajã Grande helps, because PR01, PR02 and PR03 all finish there. You take a taxi out in the morning and walk home.

The airport records about 8 days with rain in July and about 18 in December, and the trail pages warn that the plateau brings its own rain and fog. Summer is the easy season for walking, but the rule on Flores holds all year: the streams rise fast after heavy rain, and the register tells you to watch for it on the Grand Route. Plan the long walks early in your stay so that a wet day can push them back rather than cancel them.

Carry water, a waterproof and something warm even in August, because the high ground can turn wet and cold quickly. In an emergency call 112 and give the number of the last numbered trail post you passed.

Which trail on Flores should I do if I only have one day?

PR02FLO, Lajedo to Fajã Grande. It is graded medium, takes about three and a half hours, and passes the Rocha dos Bordões, the Portal viewpoint and the waterfall cliff above Fajã Grande. Avoid it the morning after heavy rain.

Is the Ponta Delgada to Fajã Grande trail open?

It was listed as temporarily closed on the official alerts page in September 2026. Check trails.visitazores.com before you plan around it, and again on the morning you go.

How do I get back to the start of a linear trail on Flores?

The simplest way is to leave the car at the finish and take a taxi to the start. There are buses, but only a few a day on three lines, and in 2023 none at weekends or on public holidays.

Can I walk the whole Grand Route of Flores?

Not in 2026. Stage 1, Santa Cruz to Ponta Delgada, is open and takes about eight hours. Stage 2 down the west coast was marked closed on the official register.