Photogallery of Graciosa, Portugal

Despite the fact that Graciosa Island is not the most popular destination among European fans of active holidays, still, there are diverse activities besides just local attractions. For instance, there is of the most peculiar elevations of Portugal – Caldeira volcano (402m above sea level). Basically, it’s a side of a giant extent volcano’s crater. It’s not Mount Elbrus, of course, but, on the other hand, anybody can climb it if they want to, even untrained ones. One has to go all the path on foot, so you can just enjoy a magnificent view of Graciosa and neighbouring islands. One more unique place here is a sulphuric cave. It’s located in the extent volcano’s Furna Do Enxofre crater. There is an extremely beautiful lake there and about 80-meters-high vault of volcanic origin. The entrance is free, however, if you’d like to get the maximum information about the grotto and its origin, it would be better to pay a guide. For those who love making photos, the best time for visiting the cave is from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Sunlight reaches Furna Do Enxofre just right about this time. Furna da Maria Encantada is highly fascinating as well. Almost the whole territory of the island belongs to the national nature reserve. Pure forests, lack of manufacture after the prohibition of whaling here and on the adjacent islands allowed the Portugal government to give the major territory of the island to ecologists. Various experiments concerning the … Read further