The Furnas scenic drive is the one that gives you the Azores in concentrate: a volcanic valley where the ground steams, lunch is cooked underground, and you can soak in an iron-rich thermal pool under tree ferns, all in a single day from Ponta Delgada. Furnas sits 43km East of the capital, a 45-minute drive on the EN1-1A, and a hire car is the only sensible way to do it, because the viewpoints, the tea plantation and the hot springs are spread across the valley and no bus will string them together. This Furnas scenic drive maps the whole loop, the best stops, where to eat the famous cozido, and how to time it.
There is a smart way to drive it. Two roads connect Ponta Delgada and Furnas, the southern EN1-1A and the northern route through Ribeira Grande, so the trick is to go out one way and back the other, taking in different scenery and the Gorreana tea plantation on the northern leg. A small car suits the narrow, winding valley roads best, prices for car hire in Sao Miguel start from around £12 per day in the low season, and there are no tolls anywhere on the island.
The Furnas Scenic Drive at a Glance
| Stage | Road | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Ponta Delgada | EN1-1A | Collect the hire car, head East |
| Gorreana Tea | EN2-1A (north route) | Europe’s oldest tea plantation, free tasting |
| Pico do Ferro | Signed off the north road | The panoramic view over the valley and lake |
| Caldeiras das Furnas | In Furnas town | Steaming fumaroles, bubbling mud, cozido pits |
| Terra Nostra Park | Furnas village | Iron-rich thermal pool, botanical garden |
| Poça da Dona Beija | Furnas village | Six warm pools, open late |
| Lagoa das Furnas | EN1-1A | The lake, the chapel and the cozido fumaroles |
Distance: roughly 90km round trip doing the north-and-south loop. Driving time: about 2 hours moving, but allow a full day. Best for: geothermal valley, the famous cozido stew, thermal pools and a tea plantation. Gateway: Ponta Delgada Airport (PDL), about 45 minutes from Furnas.
Unlike the west-coast Sete Cidades drive, the Furnas scenic drive heads east into the island’s steaming heart, so the two pair perfectly across a trip: one day for the crater lakes of the west, another for the geothermal valley of the east, each on its own clear morning.
On This Page
- The Drive, Stop by Stop
- Cozido and Where to Eat in Furnas
- The Valley That Cooks Its Own Lunch
- When to Go and How Long to Allow
- Getting to Furnas: Your Gateway
- Driving Tips for the Furnas Valley
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Furnas Scenic Drive, Stop by Stop
1. Gorreana Tea Plantation
Take the northern route out of Ponta Delgada, through Ribeira Grande, and the first stop on the Furnas scenic drive is a genuine one-off: Gorreana, the oldest tea plantation in Europe and one of only two left on the continent, both on this island. Family-run since 1883, Gorreana still runs its original machinery, the rows of tea striping the green hillsides above the north coast. Entry and a tasting are free, the walk through the fields is lovely, and the cafe pours fresh green and black tea grown on the slope outside the window.
It is a fitting, gentle start before the valley gets dramatic. Both of the island’s tea estates, Gorreana and nearby Porto Formoso, sit on this northern coast, the only commercial tea grown anywhere in Europe, a legacy of the 19th century when the orange trade collapsed and growers turned to tea instead.
2. Pico do Ferro Viewpoint
A few minutes further on, signed off the north road just past the Furnas golf course, a narrow lane climbs to Pico do Ferro. At 570 metres this is the great view of the valley, the whole green bowl of the Furnas caldera laid out below with the lake on one side, the steaming town on the other, and the Atlantic beyond on a clear day. Like everything in Furnas it is weather-dependent, and cloud can fill the bowl, so take it while it is clear. There is parking at the foot of the short, accessible path to the platform.
3. Caldeiras das Furnas (The Fumaroles)
The next stop on the Furnas scenic drive is the reason the valley feels like another planet: the Caldeiras das Furnas, down in the town. Boiling springs, bubbling grey mud and small geysers steam away among the green hills, and the sulphur smell announces them before you see them. This is one of the two places the famous cozido is cooked, with pots lowered into the volcanic ground, and you can wander the marked walkways among the vents.
Step carefully and stay behind the markers, because the ground here reaches well over 90 degrees Celsius. It is free, central, and unforgettable. Look out for the smaller fountains too, where locals lower sacks of corn into the boiling water to cook maçarocas, and the chalets nearby where the same geothermal water turns a glass of green tea a startling purple.
4. Terra Nostra Park and Thermal Pool
The signature soak of the Furnas scenic drive is Terra Nostra Park, a botanical garden begun in 1775 around the thermal pool of an American merchant who fell for the valley. The huge iron-rich pool at Terra Nostra sits at a steady 35 to 40 degrees Celsius, its ochre water stained warm by the minerals, and the gardens hold one of Europe’s great camellia collections and towering tree ferns. Entry is around 17 euros and worth it. One genuine tip: wear a dark swimsuit you do not mind staining, because the iron in the water marks light fabric.
5. Poça da Dona Beija
A few minutes on, the Furnas scenic drive reaches Poca da Dona Beija, the locals’ thermal favourite and the better-value soak: six small stone pools of warm iron-rich water at different temperatures, tucked into dense greenery beside a rushing stream. It is more intimate than Terra Nostra and stays open late into the evening, which makes it the perfect end to the day after the driving is done. Tickets are a few euros and timed, so book ahead in summer. The same dark-swimsuit rule applies.
6. Lagoa das Furnas and the Chapel
The Furnas scenic drive ends at Lagoa das Furnas, the green crater lake that gives the valley its calm heart, just west of the town. A flat, easy trail of around 6km circles the water, passing the lakeside fumaroles where, around late morning, you can watch cooks unearth the buried pots of cozido. On the far shore stands the neo-Gothic Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Vitorias, built by a grieving nobleman to hold his wife’s tomb, strikingly atmospheric in the valley mist.
It is the quietest and most reflective stop on the drive. You can rent a kayak to paddle out onto the green water, and the modern Monitoring and Research Centre on the shore explains the volcano beneath your feet and the work to protect the lake’s fragile ecosystem from the nutrients that turn it green.
7. Salto do Prego and Sanguinho (Optional Extension)
If you have the legs for it and a clear afternoon, the Furnas scenic drive has a fine walking finale a short drive south at Sanguinho, near Faial da Terra. From the restored stone hamlet, an easy forest trail of around 4km leads to Salto do Prego, a waterfall plunging into a clear pool you can swim in on a warm day. It is one of the most loved short hikes on the island and a peaceful counterpoint to the busy thermal pools, though it adds time, so save it for when the valley itself is done.
Cozido and Where to Eat on the Furnas Scenic Drive
No stop on the Furnas scenic drive matters more than lunch, because Furnas cooks a dish you can eat almost nowhere else on earth. Cozido das Furnas is a layered stew of pork, beef, chicken, sausages and vegetables, sealed in a pot and lowered into a hole in the volcanic ground by the lake, where it cooks slowly for around five to six hours on geothermal heat alone. The result is rich, smoky and unlike any stew cooked above ground. It must be ordered a day ahead, as the pots go into the earth in the early morning to be ready by lunch.
Tony’s Restaurant in the village is the classic address for cozido, long-established and reliably good, so book well ahead. Caldeiras & Vulcões is the more rustic choice, traditional Azorean comfort food where the queijada de inhame (yam tart) is the dessert to try. For an upscale version after a soak, the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel restaurant serves its own cozido a terra in lovely garden surroundings. Beyond the stew, try a bolo levedo, the soft, slightly sweet Azorean griddle muffin, and a cup of purple tea at Chalet da Tia Merces, where the geothermal water turns green Gorreana tea violet in the glass.
The Valley That Cooks Its Own Lunch
Furnas sits inside a live volcanic caldera, a bowl around 5km across formed by a collapse some 30,000 years ago, and the Furnas volcano has erupted at least ten times in the last 5,000 years, most recently in 1630. That eruption destroyed an earlier settlement and shaped the valley you drive into today. What looks like scenery is in fact a working geothermal system: the same heat that steams from the caldeiras warms the thermal pools, feeds 22 distinct types of mineral spring, and cooks the cozido.
That heat built a culture as much as a landscape. The thermal baths drew visitors from the late 18th century, when Terra Nostra’s gardens were first planted, and the tradition of cooking in the ground turned a quirk of geology into the island’s signature meal. The valley is now a protected landscape and a recognised geosite, with a research centre by the lake explaining how this fragile system is looked after; the official Azores tourism board has more on the Furnas protected landscape.
Driving in, you are entering one of the most geologically alive places in Europe. Furnas is sometimes called the largest hydropolis in the world, with 22 classified types of mineral-medicinal water rising within the valley, and you can still drink from the cool, fizzy iron springs at fountains along the village streets, each with a slightly different taste.
When to Go and How Long to Allow
Furnas rewards a full day, and ideally a clear one. The valley catches cloud and rain more than the coast, even in summer, so if your trip allows it, save the Furnas scenic drive for a settled day and check the forecast the night before. The Furnas scenic drive is at its best from May to September, with the mildest, driest weather and the hydrangeas in bloom, while spring and autumn are quieter and still green. Mornings are best: the fumaroles steam most dramatically before midday, the cozido comes out of the ground around late morning to lunchtime, and the viewpoints are clearest early.
A sensible rhythm is to drive the northern route first for Gorreana and Pico do Ferro, drop into the town for the caldeiras and a booked cozido lunch, spend the afternoon in the gardens and thermal pool at Terra Nostra, then finish with a late evening soak at Poca da Dona Beija before driving back the southern way. Done like that, the Furnas scenic drive fills a day without ever feeling rushed.
Getting to Furnas: Your Gateway
Every visitor to Sao Miguel arrives through Ponta Delgada Airport (PDL), also called Joao Paulo II, just west of the capital and about 45 minutes from Furnas on the EN1-1A. A hire car is close to essential, as the bus takes over 90 minutes each way and reaches almost none of the valley’s spread-out sights. Compare cheap car hire in Sao Miguel in a single search from around £12 per day, and for the wider archipelago see our car hire in the Azores guide.
Remember you hire a separate car on each island, as rentals cannot cross between the islands on the ferries. Collecting at the airport is quick, the desks are in the arrivals hall, and the Furnas scenic drive begins the moment you turn east out of the city, so many visitors pick up the car and head straight for the valley on a clear day.
Driving Tips for the Furnas Valley
The roads on the Furnas scenic drive are well surfaced but twisting, with steep climbs and tight bends on both the north and south routes, so a small car is easier than a large one and you should keep your speed down on the descents. You drive on the right. Go out one way and back the other to see both landscapes, and check the weather, as the valley clouds over fast. Parking is generally fine but tightest by Lagoa das Furnas and the thermal pools at peak times, so arrive early. Fuel up in Ponta Delgada or Ribeira Grande before you climb into the valley. There are no tolls anywhere on the island.
A few practical notes make the day smoother. Book your cozido at least 24 hours ahead, as it is made to order and cooked in the ground from early morning. Take a dark swimsuit, a towel and water shoes for the thermal pools, where the iron-rich water stains light fabric. Bring a light layer for Pico do Ferro, which is cooler and windier than the valley floor, and carry some cash for the smaller spots. The sulphur smell at the caldeiras is strong but harmless, and part of the experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the Furnas scenic drive take?
About 2 hours of driving for the full north-and-south loop from Ponta Delgada, but you should allow a complete day. The viewpoints, the caldeiras, a booked cozido lunch, the thermal pools and the lake easily fill the time, and the valley is best enjoyed slowly.
Do I need a car to visit Furnas?
Effectively yes. The bus from Ponta Delgada takes over 90 minutes each way and does not link the valley’s spread-out sights. A hire car, or a guided tour, is the only practical way to drive the Furnas scenic drive and see the viewpoints, tea plantation and hot springs in a day.
What is Cozido das Furnas?
It is a layered stew of meats and vegetables cooked underground for five to six hours using only the natural volcanic heat by Lagoa das Furnas. It is the island’s signature dish, must be booked a day in advance, and is served at restaurants like Tony’s and Caldeiras & Vulcoes in the village.
Which thermal pool is better, Terra Nostra or Dona Beija?
Terra Nostra has the larger pool and the famous botanical garden but costs around 17 euros; Poca da Dona Beija is smaller, more intimate, cheaper and open late. Many visitors do both, the garden and big pool by day, Dona Beija for an evening soak. Both stain light swimwear, so wear dark colours.
Is the drive to Furnas difficult?
No. The roads are good, just winding with steep sections, so a small car and a steady pace are all you need. You drive on the right. The bigger variable is the weather, as the valley clouds over quickly, so pick a clear day if you can.
What else is near Furnas?
The east coast village of Ribeira Quente and its beach are a short drive south, the Gorreana and Porto Formoso tea plantations are on the north route, and the Salto do Prego waterfall hike begins nearby at Sanguinho. Lagoa do Fogo, the island’s other great crater lake, pairs well on a separate clear day.
Download the Furnas Scenic Drive Guide
Download includes:
- The full valley loop with all stops in driving order
- Safety and driving tips for the winding valley roads
- Best-for recommendations and the cozido booking tip
- Ponta Delgada Airport gateway access guide
Drive the Furnas Valley for Yourself
Steaming ground, lunch cooked by a volcano and a thermal pool under the tree ferns: the Furnas scenic drive is the Azores at their most extraordinary, and a hire car is what makes it yours for the day. Compare cheap car hire in Sao Miguel from around £12 per day across trusted suppliers in a single search, book your cozido a day ahead, and pick a clear morning.
About the Author
Written by the Digitalhound.co.uk editorial team. Every guide is thoroughly researched with genuine local knowledge, road numbers, food stops and practical driving tips gathered from on-the-ground experience.