Ribeira dos Caldeirões

The Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeirões occupies a ravine on the road into Nordeste at the far eastern end of São Miguel, where a stream drops in a series of falls through dense vegetation. Watermills that ground maize here have been restored - one works as a small museum with its wheel and stones - and paths, steps and bridges run through the ravine past the falls, with a garden of Azorean and introduced plants, a camping area and a picnic ground. The banks are thick with hydrangea, which is not native but has become the Azorean signature, flowering blue in high summer along every roadside and field boundary in the islands. Nordeste is the least visited part of São Miguel, and the drive out along the northern coast through the Nordeste viewpoints is as much of the point as the park itself.

What you actually see

• The falls - a stream dropping in stages through a densely vegetated ravine.
• The watermills - restored maize mills, one working as a small museum.
• The hydrangeas - blue banks flowering through high summer.
• The paths - steps and bridges through the ravine, with a garden and picnic area.

When to go

June to August for hydrangeas in flower; year-round otherwise. One to two hours. Combines with the Nordeste coastal viewpoints.

Honest expectations

Steps and paths are wet and slippery. It is a roadside park rather than a wilderness, with a car park and picnic tables. Hydrangeas are an introduced species dominating native vegetation. Nordeste is a long drive from Ponta Delgada.

Nearby

Nordeste town is east; the Ponta do Sossego viewpoint is along the coast.