Faja d'Agua

Fajã d'Água sits at the bottom of a steep valley on Brava's northwestern coast, reached by a road that drops sharply from the plateau, with the village strung along a bay of black rock and grey sand. Springs in the valley give it the water its name refers to, and there are natural rock pools along the shore where the sea comes in. It is very quiet, with a handful of guesthouses and a lot of stone walls.

History

The point appears as Faciend de Agoa on Jacques-Nicolas Bellin's map of 1747, and in the 18th and 19th centuries American whaling ships landed here; Fajã de Água was Brava's main harbour until Furna was founded in 1843, and the small Esperadinha airport opened here in 1992 stopped working in 2004 because strong winds made landings impossible (Wikipedia, Fajã de Água).

Highlights

• The rock pools - natural basins along the shore filled by the sea.
• The valley - the steep-sided ravine the village sits at the foot of.
• The springs - the water that gave the village its name.
• The descent road - the sharp drop from the plateau to the coast.

When to go

November to June is the dry season. The sea is calmest in the spring months. Swell makes the rock pools dangerous at times.

Before you go

The road down is steep and narrow. Facilities amount to a couple of small guesthouses. The rock pools are unsupervised and swell can sweep them.

Nearby

Nova Sintra is southeast, and Brava's coast runs north.

Key facts