Biscoitos

Biscoitos takes its name from the lava, which cooled into broken shapes said to look like biscuits, and it does two things with that rock. On the shore, hollows in the black basalt have been adapted into bathing pools with ladders, steps and concrete walkways, filled and flushed by the Atlantic - the best-known set on Terceira, sheltered enough to swim in when the sea is calm and closed when it is not. Inland, the same rock has been worked into currais: small plots enclosed by dry-stone lava walls that shelter vines from wind and salt and hold the day's heat, the same system that is UNESCO-listed on Pico. Verdelho grapes grown here make a protected wine, and there is a wine museum in an old family property. The north coast of Terceira is rough and the swell reaches these pools often.

What you actually see

• The lava pools - basins in black basalt with ladders and walkways.
• The currais - vine plots walled in dry-stone lava against wind and salt.
• The verdelho - the protected wine grown in the walled plots.
• The wine museum - an old family property showing the production.

When to go

June to September for swimming; the pools close in swell, which is frequent on this coast. Half a day. The museum keeps limited hours.

Honest expectations

Pools close often in swell and the north coast is rough much of the year. The rock is sharp and barnacled. Water is cool even in August. Facilities are basic and the wine museum has irregular opening.

Nearby

Angra do Heroísmo is south; Serra do Cume and its field patchwork are east.