lagoa do fogo

Can't miss photo opportunities. Beautiful views. Be prepared for changing weather. Use guided tour if you can.

Breathtaking views to the Lagoon and the northshore of the island - and good walks down to the lagoon - but pay attention, the way may be slippery!

A pristine crater lake. Excellent water clarity even from the rim. We were there on a partly cloudy day, yet you could see in all directions--Sete Cidades to the west, Nordeste region to the east, both the north and south coast of Sao Miguel Island. It's a very rugged area, but if you have the time and like to hike, I think you'd have a worthwhile adventure. If you visit by vehicle, make sure you have 4-wheel drive.

This lake could easily become a favorite place of mine if I lived on the island. Pretty trails going down, swim able, cliffs, trees.... Yup, this place has it all

A great scenic overlook view from the tops of the mountain of the beautiful crater lake. If you're not obscured by clouds, you can see the ocean on both sides of the island while enjoying the lake view. If you have time, it looks like it would be a nice, but steep hike to the lake.

Clear day and could see both sides of the island at once. No traffic. No one else at the overlook. Looked like a beautiful walk to take but was on a jeep tour.

We hiked up to Lagoa do Fogo all the way from Agua de Alto. The routes total distance was 10 miles with 2500ft of cumulative elevation gain. Starting from the official trailhead would save about 700 ft of climbing and several miles of walking on roads. The trail proper starts up a steep dirt road for about 1.5 miles before leveling out along the canal. This portion as well as the remainder of the hike is quite enjoyable. This was one of the best hikes we did on the island but was rather strenuous as times.

Can't miss it, the rim of this crater gives excellent views, and there is a very nice hiking trail that goes down to the lake shore and beach. Absolutely breathtaking and pristine.

Pick a good day to travel here and the view in my opinion is the best on the island. There are many ways in which you can get here. but it's best to take a guided tour via Tour Bus, Jeep Quad Bike, Mountain bike or just an organised trek up from Agua de Alto or walk down from the crater rim. From the top you can see both the north and south shores and pretty much the entire length of the west of the island, not to mention the amazing lake of fire (Lagoa do Fogo) itself. One word for the view at the top....Spectacular!

From the view point high above Lagoa do Fogo you can see both the north and south coast. The lake itself was very blue the descent to it was very steep. Nothing man-made surrounds the lake. I wish I'd had time to walk to the bottom, but evening and clouds were on their way.

5* view but 2* accessibility. Lagoa do Fogo is a volcanic lake high in the mountains not far from the town of Lagoa. The route to the lake is easy to find, but as others have said, this visit is massively weather-dependent. It's very often foggy, rainy, cloudy. Our first time up was a decent day elsewhere, but we had less than 30ft visibility at the heights - which made driving the winding roads scary and with no views at all for payback. The second time we went was the sunniest day we had on Sao Miguel - and the views were gorgeous (you can see north and south coasts of the island from the peaks on a clear day)! We didn't have the chance to hike the steep path down to the lake and around it - though that looks amazing (if you hit the right day/time!). Choose the sunniest day - afternoon so the cloud has burned off. The temps on top were 3-4C colder than in town, it was very windy, there are some places to pull over and enjoy the views but no way to drive down to the lake, and there is a gorgeous hot spring on the north side, lower slopes. Save time for this hot-spring - it's only about E4 to get in. Trying to see Fogo in nice weather was a juggling act and I genuinely liked Sete Cidades much better.

The geology of this area is fascinating. The lake was beautiful although we did lots of timetable juggling to see it when the fog or cloud had lifted. We saw this with a tour guide and I am glad because we would never know enough about the local weather to judge the best time. Also we were happy not to be driving on the winding mountain roads. Our guide said "remember it is winter!" We Canadians just laughed.

The Lagoa do Fogo is one of the most beautiful spots on the island. Although it is usually quite foggy, it is well worth waiting until the fog clears out and hike down to the river front - it's a 15-20 minute hike down from the viewpoint, not too complicated as there are steps to help with the climb. Once you reach the lake, the best way around is by going left and just keep walking surrounded by nature in a very relaxing atmosphere. At some point, you will also see a smaller lake on the left. There are quite a few birds around the lake, and they can be a bit aggressive if they think you are attacking their baby birds - so just be careful not to disturb them. I would definitely recommend it as one of the best spots in Sao Miguel.

You know how you gaze into one of those scenic photos on a nature calendar, imagining what it would be like to stroll along that grassy knoll alongside the peaceful lake? Welcome to Lagoa do Fogo - one of Sao Miguel's calendar moments. Take some time here, enjoy the breathtaking vistas and lush hillsides that make this attraction one of the island's best.

I personally thought it was better than Sete Cidades because of the stunning views. There are several geothermal plants on the way and the hot springs is just down the road where you can take a really hot bath with a hot waterfall and a small museum...I don't understand how folks can give 3* due to weather. We were there in December and since we had a rental car, went there twice. The clouds do come down really fast and totally cover the view...