Hiking in Furnas on São Miguel | Azores

São Miguel is the largest island of the Portuguese island group of the Azores. It is a subtropical hiking paradise that you just have to see! Today I am exploring the beautiful area around Furnas and the volcanic crater lake Lagoa Das Furnas. There are waterfalls here, volcanic activity, hot springs, a flourishing vegetation and a beautiful subtropical forest. Ilha de São Miguel is an amazing place to explore and to hike and I can highly recommend it to anyone who loves nature and the outdoors!
This is the first day of my Azores adventure.

[@waynedodds5839]

I’ve been to this beautiful island many times, paradise on earth, if you’re into hiking then believe me, it just doesn’t stop giving. A magical little gem in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean..

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Totally agree. I am sure I will be back there one day and probably also check out the other islands.

[@dennisschwartzentruber3204]

Outstanding , as it brings back many wonderful memories of my time there ; a special place on a magical island !

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Glad you enjoyed the video! :)

[@ervinslens]

You have a great ability to really pull the viewer into scenery and the atmosphere. Great upload.👌

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you very much! :)

[@kona-fl7fl]

Great video, I live in Furnas and you captured the area very well. It's a magical place, but so is the whole island!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@blackwolf409]

Where did you stay in Furnas? And what was the name of the park? :) thank you so much for such a beautiful upload!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

My hotel was in Ribeirinha, east of Ribeira Grande. I went to Furnas by bus(takes about 45minutes). Glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@toadtoadersson2239]

Vielen vielen dank für die tolle Aufnahmen! Wir gehen nach S.Miguel und Flores im September

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Freut mich, dass das Video gefällt :) Viel Spaß für die Reise!

[@chickadeetle]

I'm watching this Christmas Day as my daughter is currently on Sao Miguel. She says it's gorgeous!.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Great to hear! It truely is! :)

[@gbu85891]

Thank you for making these beautiful videos of the Azores. We are going in May 2024 ( São Miguel and Terceira )

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Awesome, have fun! :)

[@carmenerickson4844]

Thank you for this wonderful view of waterfall park. We will be traveling to Furnas soon. Such a beautiful place. We are in love with the Azores and this will be our second trip, the first time we went to Terceira.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

I am glad you enjoyed the video! I will also have to return one day and see more and also visit other islands. There is so much to explore and experience there it is a fantastic place! Have fun in Furnas! :)

[@paulasalomons2472]

awesome video not boring at all. hugs from Canada.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

😊 thank you, hugs from Germany

[@fatimadafonte7699]

What an awesome video!!!👌😉 Must admit my heart was pounding for you in some places😀😃.....you are extremely brave!! Thank you so much for taking us on this incredible journey with you!! Be safe and happy travels🤗

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you so much! :)

[@molesoul40]

Very well done! I visited Furnas last year but wasn't able to do the trail you walked, so thank you very much for sharing this! You did a great job filming and narrating the hike, and it makes me want to go back. I love the Azores and I've thought about living there (I'm American). The Azoreans know how to respect and care for their spectacular natural environments. I will check out more of your travelogues. Happy trails!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed the hike :) Yes, Azores are also on my list of places where I can imagine to live!

[@gilmendes3853]

Great vídeo. I´m living in Furnas for about 22 years. Glad you like it. It's a wonderful place ;)

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Cool! :) it really is :)

[@CN-dv9nj]

The islands are by legends the land that remains of Atlantis Continent. I hope yu get to see the waves on the rock shores in the moonlight. Magical site.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Sounds amazing! I guess will have to do a night hike on my next trip :)

[@hugolima15]

Hi, im from São Miguel Island and i go plenty of times to furnas. at 5:15, there was used to have a opening leading to the staircase, and on the main caldeiras at 2:53, that stone wall didnt exist back in time too, the reason that staircase is now block and there's a wall of stones preventing people from going in happened was because i think around 10 years ago, a little boy fell for 2 seconds in one of those and a friend of mine pull him back alive but with severe burning injuries. The boy is good nowadays but with injuries for sure. After that safety was all what matters.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Ah ok, yes, that should of course not happen again!! Thank you for the explanation! :)

[@hugolima15]

@@OfftoMarvelousPlaces you welcome! Looking forward to see the next partk of your journey to São Miguel Island

[@prophetstationestacaoprofe9002]

Dear Hugo greetings a minha esposa ( Claudia) e das Furnas ,todavia está aqui nos states há 54 anos não voltou mais , Moramos 33 anos em New Bedford e em Abril faz 20 anos que mudamos para a Flórida. Aquele abraço fraternal do joe e claudia.

[@hugolima15]

@@prophetstationestacaoprofe9002 nice to meet you, i have a aunt that is from New Bedford too

[@philhatem2256]

This was great. Hope you have more. Thank you.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you! Yes, there is more to come :)

[@corytersmitte3284]

Excellent walkthrough Furnas, almost as good as being there, thank you. I'll be there at the end of September, very much looking forward to it. Especially after your video. BTW, no need to apologize for loving Volcanos ✌

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you! :) enjoy your time in Furnas! :)

[@user-is8lp3nh9f]

I enjoy your spirit of adventure and love watching your satisfaction with the beauty of the nature that you discover. You have a very beautiful and humble persona and it fits you well! The Azores is next on my list of go too s !

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you! Enjoy your visit! :)

[@juliodefreitas157]

Absolutely awesome and thank you for sharing your video 💙💙👍👍❤

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

You are welcome! :)

[@juliodefreitas157]

Thank you for sharing this paradise on earth 💙💙👍❤

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you too :)

[@bgmckeown]

Love this video and btw. I ❤️ volcanoes too!! You ought to visit Pico!! 😀

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you! :) Pico would have been so great, but I'm going to have to do that one on my next visit :) There is a permit required to go up Pico so this requires some planning ahead and knowing ahead of time when the weather will be good there.

[@mariomedeiros4784]

Amazing video, good job.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you very much!

[@marwanbalad9967]

Amazing,!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@JulieAndFriends]

Great video ! I will definitely try this one. Can you please share the app you use for trails? And also what bus did u take? Thanks for sharing!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Glad you enjoyed it! :) I use Komoot, which appeared to be quite good for Sao Miguel. Not sure about the exact bus. I used Google to see when and where the busses left from Ribeirinha to Furnas. They do not go very frequently, so I kept numbers of taxi companies with me as well for backup.

[@JulieAndFriends]

@@OfftoMarvelousPlaces Thank you very much for the valuable infos. I’ll watch all your videos from the Azores to plan my trip, because you did a very good job with detailing trails. Have a nice day❤️🫶🏻💜

[@shanecagney7451]

great job!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thanks!

[@JuanCarlos-gc8lp]

Hi, xery nice and superwell described.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@robinfoster9287]

My family lived there (ancestors). Rodriguez, De Sousa, De Rosa.... I wanted to visit, studied Portuguese.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

It is a fantastic place to be :)

[@deadmanwalking6342]

Thanks for the Azores videos, very nice and informative. You might enjoy the research from various groups and people about Platons writings on Atlantis 360BC the Socrates dialogues which is an ancient text coming out of ancient Pharaonic Egypt scripts of the ancient homeland of Azores/Atlantis. One of them are Randall Carlsson who has several episodes about Platons Atlantis example: "Echoes of Atlantis in the Azores - Matching Descriptions , Randall Carlson-Kosmographia Clips 008.4

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Atlantis having been at the Azores is a fun theory, I like it :) Thanks for the tip :) Glad you enjoyed the series!

[@helenabraga4222]

Nice to see my beautiful island

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

I loved your island so much! I have to return at some point because there is a lot more to see and to do! :)

[@zoebas12]

Looks amazing! What is the name of the park?

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

It’s called Waterfall park

[@ParanormalBusters]

WHAT AZOREANS DO IS ON WEEKS ENDS THEY BRING THE FAMILY AND THEY PLAN A PICNIK AND PLAY SOCCER ON TOP THE FURNAS IS A LOCAL PUBLIC PINKIN AREA WITH FREE TABLES AND SUTCH DAY TRIPS SOOO MANY MEMORIES OR DURING FESTIVALS ETC....

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

It is such a beautiful picnic area there!!

[@silvanus623]

I was born there and the one that you went down the stairs to get to is extremely dangerous, people including children have already fallen in and died sadly, they should have more warning signs with that one.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

You were born in a very nice place! :) Yes, that was a bit ambiguous to me, whether or not you were allowed to go down there.

[@believer431]

Can you indicate where the stairs are?

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

@@believer431 They are next to a big tree directly over the big caldeira

[@seanjose219]

Lovely vid. I plan to visit soon but I'm a wheelchair user and I can't find any information on accessible walks. Did you find any walks that would be suitable?

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you! Good question! I am sorry to say I don’t know. I will definitely have to look for info about this in the future.

[@seanjose219]

@@OfftoMarvelousPlaces thank you kindly. Was lovely to see you enjoying nature.

[@ParanormalBusters]

PICNINC TRIPS FURNAS

[@ParanormalBusters]

AT 16:22 THAT AREA AT EVENING TWILIGHT FILLS UP WITH STRANGE LOKING BATS FLYING FROM ABOVE TREES IN THE SUMMER THAT IS BATS THE LOOK LIKE BABY TERADACTELS

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Sounds like this is a great place to visit in the dark then :)

[@clab9015]

Going there this April, what is the name of the park/forest you are hiking in?

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Waterfall park at the crater lake

[@patr7204]

How do you find the trails for your hikes? Im visiting sao Miguel in April 😊

[@patr7204]

Habe jetzt erst gemerkt, dass du auch aus Deutschland kommst 😅

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Hi! Dann antworte ich auch direkt mal auf deutsch :) Ich habe mir rausgesucht was ich auf der Insel gerne sehen wollte und hatte dann so etwa 10 Regionen die ich dann der Prio nach und dem Wetter nach angegangen bin. Ich habe einfach jeweils irgendeinen Weg geplant. Der Gastgeber meines Hostels hatte mir noch ein paar gute Tipps gegeben welche Gegenden und Wege schöner sind als andere, das war wirklich nett. Hier aber z.B. in Furnas hatte ich eigentlich was ganz anderes geplant, nämlich einen Rundweg um den See. Als ich dann vor Ort den Waterfall Park gefunden hatte, musste der Plan geändert werden ;) Es gab eigentlich auf jeder Tour irgendeine wesentliche Änderung. Daher empfehle ich auch eher einen groben Weg rauszusuchen der einen da hinbringt wo man hin möchte - es kommt eh alles anders ;) Komoot hat ganz gute Anhaltspunkte für interessante Wege in den jeweiligen Regionen geboten. Gute Reise! :)

[@rajasharma4928]

I’m visiting here this January and was interested in what trail you were hiking here. This would also be my first time hiking, so would it be viable? Also, how do track where you are or what part of the trail you’re at so you don’t get lost and return safely to your starting point?

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

This is the waterfall park at the Furnas lake. The entrance is next to the house ruin, which is next to the fumarolic field at the lake. It is relatively beginner friendly. There is a map there that you can take a photo of. I am using the app komoot for navigation in addition but that should not be a requirement for this trail. Have fun son São Miguel! :)

[@rajasharma4928]

@@OfftoMarvelousPlaces thank you!

[@ParanormalBusters]

AT 7 :56 THAT PLACE USE TO ACTUALLY HAVE WATER MIXED WITH HOT MUDDY LAVA BUT ITS DRYED UP SINCE THERES EMERGCY ROPES NEAR BY IN CASE ANYONE FALLS IN LOL FATALITY LOL NO ONE GET ANY IDEAS HUM !!!! 😜

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

oh no! :)

[@ParanormalBusters]

AT 7:37 CORN COOKER

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

The yellow one, right?

[@JCMM2]

I go here once a year to visit family and at Furnas we were told you can not go down the stairs. Supposedly a women slipped and fell into the hot waters . I’m not sure how true it is but the locals and others told us that area you walked down is not admissible. People be safe.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you for the explanation! Yes it's better to keep the distance to these hot springs and always keeping in mind that they are boiling hot. It did look slippery near the spring.

[@JCMM2]

@@OfftoMarvelousPlaces I actually did googled it and it appears it is true 🥲 ( Gillian Blann, aged 58, from Edge Hill, Warwickshire, stepped back and fell into the "caldera" as she tried to take a picture of her husband John while they were on holiday last April. Bottles of cold water from onlookers were used to try and soothe her horrific injuries but Mrs Blann, who had second degree burns to 90 per cent of her body, died in hospital from sepsis a week later), this Island is Magical and everyone should visit if they could. Just be safe!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Ugh that sounds horrible

[@CharmsOfLife]

What month have you visited this place?

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

This was July :)

[@annalaulumaa2227]

Did you hear, that frogs, on the lake furnas, end part,,,, near the kirkkoa,,

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

No, I missed them :)

[@EnergiA854]

why is portugal s countryside so dry and we have tall trees here?

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

The Azores have a very different weather than continental Portugal. I think it is fascinating :)

[@EnergiA854]

@@OfftoMarvelousPlaces i read its sub tropical but a lot colder, too cold in the winter

[@ParanormalBusters]

at 18:56 you can cook your own food their free no restaurant required locals do find their own cooking places lol free

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

This is really cool! :)

[@ParanormalBusters]

AT 6:03 LOL YOUR LUCKY THE LOCAL POLICE DINT SEE YOU WALKING DOWN THAT DO NOT WALK HERE FORBIDEN CLOSED OFF STAIR CASE TO HELL LOL THATS REALY DANGEROUS BUT FURNAS WAS MUTCH MORE ACTIVE IN THE 80`S THATS FOR SHURE ! MAN ...YOU ONE BRAVE LADY WALKING INTO THAT DANGEROUS BOILING GROUNDS ......😆ALLWAYS WONDRED WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE UP CLOSE 🤣

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Now you know lol well I just saw there were stairs to that interesting place. There was no one around. Later in the afternoon there were more people and I realized no one went down there… interesting how volcanic landscapes change. New activity might boil up somewhere else instead.

[@AzoresWhatElse]

Impeccable images. Keep up the good work. I take this opportunity to invite you to follow "Azores, What Else", both here on KZbin, as on Instagram and other social networks. Best regards.

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Thank you! :)

[@cumcaki]

If you love volcanoes so much you have to jump in

[@rosecarvalho5407]

I bet you are having the time of your life. I am from there, Furnas. I was there in 2019. Have fun!

[@OfftoMarvelousPlaces]

Oh yes, it was so amazing!! :) Thank you so much! :)