Things to do in Furnas

Furnas sits in a green volcanic crater on the eastern side of São Miguel, about a 45-minute drive from Ponta Delgada.

The village itself is small, but the valley around it is the reason to come: fumaroles hiss along the Lagoa das Furnas shoreline and in patches of open ground near the centre, sending up sulphurous steam that locals have used for centuries to slow-cook the cozido das Furnas underground, not in lava, since there is no active eruption here.

Most visitors treat Furnas as a half-day stop on a São Miguel loop, though a full day gives more room for the thermal park, the lakeside walk and lunch. The village's own thermal pools and spas add a further reason to slow down rather than pass through.