Ribeira Grande: Sete Cidades Quad / Buggy Tour

Briefing on ATV driving, safety instructions and tour preparation.

Close to the Devassa Mountain is the Wall of the Nine Windows, an aqueduct of historical value. The wealth of water in the parish of Santo António led to the construction of the aqueduct between the 17th and 18th centuries that overcome the water shortage that was then felt in Ponta Delgada. Above its arches — which are called "Nine Windows" — passed the water captured from the area of the Canário lake. The Wall of the Nine Windows was saved from progressive degradation and brought back to the former monumentality by the intervention of the Municipal Services of Ponta Delgada.

845 meters altitude View to Lagoa de Santiago, Lagoa Rasa, Lagoa Verde and Lagoa Azul.

Situated on Cumeeiras, this viewpoint allows, in a perspective opposite to the viewpoint of Vista do Rei, to enjoy the beauty of the crater of Sete Cidades and all its surroundings. On the opposite side, one can enjoy views of the northern coast of the island of São Miguel and its green pastures dotted with cows.

The Sete Cidades caldera has an approximate diameter of 5km and a depth of 400m. The highest point of the volcano is 845m above sea level.
Its edges called Cumeeiras das Sete Cidades (large and small) serve as a pedestrian trail that surrounds the summits of the Sete Cidades caldera, one of the largest volcanic calderas in the Azores, with four lagoons inside – Lagoa de Santiago, Lagoa Rasa and Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde connected to each other. The latter are the main postcard of Azores Tourism and one of the 7 natural wonders of Portugal in the category of non-marine aquatic areas.
Behind the colors that give the lagoons their name is the famous legend of Sete Cidades about the love of a blue-eyed princess and a green-eyed shepherd, but, in fact, the difference in colors lies in the fact that Lagoa Verde has slopes are more closed and, therefore, receives more reflection from the surrounding vegetation while the blue one, being larger, receives more reflections from the sky

Its name derives from the visit paid by King Charles I and Queen Amelia in the summer of 1901. From it, one can admire the breath-taking view of the caldera of Sete Cidades and the lake therein. It's one of the best-known landscapes of the Azores.

End of tour