PONTA DO CASTELO

It is one of the most important landscapes - if you can call it that! - of Santa Maria Island, the one found on many postcards. If several belvederes (remarkable in fact) punctuate your tortuous descent towards Maia, it is undoubtedly here that you must stop. You can park just before the pin, and continue on foot along a marked trail. Interesting: the latter is marked by several documentary panels showing the different periods of whaling, and detailing the role of each of the buildings below.