Itinerary
ITINERARY 4: Lagoa do Canário / Cumeeira Grande & Vista do Rei / Cumeeira Pequena – This is our most adventurous tour, visiting all the main highlights of Sete Cidades while taking you up steep inclines, covering hard terrain and ending with a downhill track, making it the ideal tour for experienced cyclists with a taste for adrenaline.
DESCRIPTION: At the starting point, we will spend around 15 minutes to give you a quick safety briefing, a demonstration on how to use your E-Bike and all its functions, show you how to use your GPS tracker and map, and hand out your equipment. Once you are set up, you’re ready to go and have fun!
You will start with a relaxed ride to warm you up, crossing the bridge between Lagoa Azul (“Blue Lagoon“) and Lagoa Verde (“Green Lagoon“) and taking a dirt track along the banks of Lagoa Azul. Going around the Peninsula, passing the peaceful picnic area of Baía do Silêncio (“Silence Bay“) before heading back to the bridge, you will head up the long steep main road, along which you may stop at the viewpoints of Lagoa de Santiago (“Santiago Lagoon“) and Cerrado das Freiras (“Nuns Haven”). Going around Lagoa de Santiago via the main road, you will take a short but exciting detour through an overgrown graveled track, taking you up to a hidden viewpoint of Lagoa Rasa (“Shallow Lagoon“). Back on the main road you will make your way up until reaching the park hosting Lagoa do Canario (“Canary Lagoon“), where you will enter for a quick visit to the lagoon and head deeper into the park, where you may leave your bicycle to go check out on foot the famous viewpoint of Boca do Inferno. Heading back onto the main road, your tour will take you down past the old aqueduct system and Muro das Nove Janelas (“Wall of Nine Windows“), where lying ahead will be a more adventurous trail, starting with a long and steep ascent reaching Pico da Cruz (“Peak of the Cross”) where you will be rewarded with spectacular 360º views. The trail continues winding up, down and around Cumeeira Grande (“Big Summit Rim“) on a graveled road passing by the Miradouro das Cumeeiras (“Viewpoint of the Ridge”), and continuing onwards all the way around the Cumeeira Grande. Passing the viewpoint of Lomba do Vasco you will start the graveled track onto Cumeeira Pequena (“Small Summit Rim“) enjoying views from a different perspective onto the lagoons, the village below and the sea view to Mosteiros on the other side. The Cumeeira Pequena trail ends at the popular viewpoint of Vista do Rei (“Kings’ View“), where you will get ready for an adrenaline rush, as the last part of the tour will take you on a 3 km downhill track. Starting with a steep descent on a graveled road which will lead you to a narrow off the beaten track route (which is often muddy, wet and overgrown), passing through the forest until ending at Lagoa Verde.
– For a better view and a more detailed itinerary of this route, please download the AllTrails App by clicking on the following title: E-MTB: Self-guided Tour | Lagoa do Canário / Cumeeira Grande & Vista do Rei / Cumeeira Pequena
