Faial

Hydrangea hedges and a harbour that has welcomed sailors from across the world.

In history

Horta has welcomed sailors crossing the Atlantic for centuries. Its marina, opened in 1986, is covered in paintings left by the crews of passing yachts, for luck.

In 1957 and 1958 the Capelinhos volcano rose out of the sea at the island’s western tip, burying the lighthouse in ash and adding new land to Faial.

In the game

Harbour

Horta

Local catch

Atlantic bonito

Speciality to deliver

Scrimshaw

Stone

Cut here and sold at the exchange, for captains’ own harbours.

Harbour paint

Pass the quiz at its exchange and the island’s colours paint the walls and trims of your own harbour.

Ribeirinha lighthouse

Faial’s north-east headland. Earthquakes in 1973 and 1998 left the old tower a shell; the game lights it once more.

Espalamaca ridge

From Horta round the caldera’s green slopes and back along the Espalamaca ridge, with Pico’s peak across the channel.

Landmarks to find ashore

• Capelinhos lighthouse · Half-buried in ash from the 1957–58 eruption that added new land to Faial.
• Monte da Guia · The old volcano south of Horta, with the bay of Porto Pim beneath it, where the whaling station once stood.

Festas

• Semana do Mar · Horta, for about ten days from the first weekend of August: regattas, whaleboat races and Nossa Senhora da Guia’s sea procession.
• Nossa Senhora das Angústias · Horta, six weeks after Easter Sunday, when pilgrims cross from Pico and whaleboats race in the bay.

The other islands: São Miguel · Santa Maria · Terceira · Graciosa · São Jorge · Pico · Flores · Corvo