GRC01 SMA
Grande Rota
OpenLast checked September 27, 2026
Santa Maria's Great Route goes round the whole island, 78.6 circular kilometres in four published stages of roughly twenty each. It strings together most of what the island is known for: the raised marine terraces, the fossil beds and the red clay desert of the Barreiro da Faneca. Wild camping is not allowed, so the stages end in villages with guesthouses. Medium rather than hard, 28 hours 30 minutes.
Route facts
- Start and end
- Grande Rota de Santa Maria
- Length
- 78.6 km one way
- Official walking time
- 28 h 30 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Route type
- Circular
- Highest point
- 568 m
- Lowest point
- 5 m
- Start coordinates
- 36.94656, -25.14658
Figures as the regional trail service publishes them on the trail's own page. A row is missing where the official sheet does not state it.
Before you go
- This route returns to its start, so nothing has to be arranged at the far end.