São Jorge hikes beyond Santo Cristo: Pico da Esperança and the other fajã trails

Most people who hike on São Jorge walk one trail, the descent from the Serra do Topo to Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo, and leave. The island has eight more short routes on the regional register, and a second or third day is where they come in. The choice comes down to the weather and to how much steep stairway your knees will take. On a clear day, go high along the central ridge. On a cloudy one, stay low on a coastal circuit.

All distances, times and grades below come from the official register at trails.visitazores.com, checked in September 2026. It also shows whether a trail is open, and that changes after storms.

This is the one to save for good weather. It starts at the foot of Pico do Pedro, beside the EN3 road, and follows the central volcanic ridge before dropping down the north side to Fajã do Ouvidor. Most of it stays between 800 and 1,000 metres, past a line of cones, several with small lakes in their craters. A signed detour climbs Pico da Esperança, at 1,053 metres the highest point on São Jorge.

The register gives 16.9 km, about four hours, graded medium, and says plainly that the walk is for days of good weather and visibility. If the tops are covered when you wake up, pick another trail and try again the next morning.

It is linear, so you need a lift to the start or a pickup at Ouvidor. Book a taxi the evening before. Ouvidor has a café and a restaurant, which makes it an easy place to wait.

Three short trails meet at the small harbour of Fajã dos Vimes, and they can be joined into one day.

• PR02SJO, Serra do Topo to Fajã dos Vimes: 5.5 km, about two and a half hours, graded hard. It starts near the wind farm on the Serra do Topo, the same place as the Santo Cristo walk, and goes down through Azorean heather, juniper and blueberry before an old rock stairway takes it down the cliff. The register warns that the descent can be muddy and slippery. Close every gate behind you.
• PR03SJO, São João to Lourais to Fajã dos Vimes: 9.6 km, about three and a half hours, hard. It links Fajã de São João to Vimes over Lourais and down through Fajã dos Bodes. After heavy rain the register says to avoid the section between Lourais and Vimes, because the streams are hard to cross.
• PR09SJO, Fajã dos Vimes to Portal: 3.1 km, about an hour and a half, medium. It crosses Fajã da Fragueira, where the ruin of the house of the composer Francisco de Lacerda stands. He lived there for eight years after the First World War.

PR02 followed by PR09 makes a day of about 8.6 km, most of it downhill. Vimes is a good place to break it: the village has a quilt workshop and a family café that serves coffee grown in the fajã.

On the north side, two circuits start and end in the same village, so you need no transfer.

Norte Pequeno (PRC06SJO) is 10.9 km, about three hours, graded medium. It goes down to three small fajãs, Mero, Penedia and Pontas, with a short detour to the rebuilt chapel of Santa Filomena. Fajã das Pontas has a small fishing harbour. The climb back up comes at the end, so leave some energy for it. From here the route also connects to the Grande Rota towards Fajã dos Cubres.

Fajãs do Toledo (PRC08SJO) is 6.8 km, about three hours, graded hard. It starts by the chapel of São José in the village of Toledo and goes down to three fajãs, Manuel Teixeira, Rasa and Vasco Martins, which were farmed until the 1980 earthquake and then abandoned. What is left is wine cellars, grape presses and terraces gone back to grass. A Spanish ship, the Algorta, was wrecked at Fajã Rasa in the 19th century. The Ponta Furada viewpoint looks across to Graciosa and Terceira. Take care crossing the Ribeira da Quebrada, and expect a narrow path on the way back up the cliff.

Fajã d'Além (PRC05SJO), the third north-coast circuit, was marked closed on the register in September 2026. Check its status before planning around it.

Caminho das Fontes (PRC10SJO) is 8.1 km, about three hours, graded medium, and starts at the port of Calheta near the Francisco de Lacerda museum. It climbs the Ladeira Velha, an old cobbled lane, to Biscoitos and follows the path villagers once walked to the Fontes da Rocha springs to fetch water and wash clothes. On the way back it passes a tuna cannery that has been working since the 1940s. It is a circuit and never climbs above 350 metres, so it is the one to pick when the tops are in cloud.

Two long-distance routes cross the whole island and meet at Fajã dos Cubres. GR01SJO runs from Topo, on the eastern tip, to Cubres, 39.3 km in two stages of about 25 and 15 km. GR02SJO runs from Ponta dos Rosais at the western tip to Cubres, 52.9 km in two stages of about 22 and 30 km. Wild camping is forbidden, so each night has to be booked in local lodging or rural tourism accommodation along the way. Both are graded hard.

Landslides have repeatedly closed the access to Fajã dos Cubres since October 2025, most recently in late September 2026, so check the Cubres end before committing to either route.

• Check the trail's status on trails.visitazores.com the day before. Closures are posted there.
• Four of the short routes above are linear (PR02, PR03, PR04 and PR09). Book a taxi for the start or the finish the day before.
• The old rock stairways on PR02, PR09 and Fajã d'Além are slippery when wet. Wear boots with real grip, not trainers.
• Carry water and food for the whole walk.

What is the highest point on São Jorge, and can you walk up it? Pico da Esperança, at 1,053 metres. A signed detour from the PR04SJO ridge trail climbs it. Go only on a clear day.

Which São Jorge trail is best in bad weather? Caminho das Fontes (PRC10SJO) from Calheta. It stays below 350 metres and is a circuit, so you finish where you started.

Can I hike on São Jorge without a car? Yes, with taxis. Book one for the start or the end of a linear route. The two north-coast circuits and Caminho das Fontes need a ride only to reach the village where they start.

Which trails can be joined into one day? PR02SJO and PR09SJO meet at the harbour of Fajã dos Vimes: about 8.6 km from the Serra do Topo down to Vimes and on to Portal. PR03SJO also ends at Vimes.