Climbing up the mountain in Pico, the highest point of Portugal, is an unique moment that will never be forgotten. With an altitude of 2351 meters, and tracking a 3800 meters long trail, we’ll get to the top.
Although it is not considered a technical climbing, to go up the mountain is classified as of medium/high difficulty. It is a 7600 long trail (3800m from the base to the top) and a gap of 1100m, starting at Casa da Montanha, at 1230m of altitude, where every tracker signs the register of the climbing, reaching the top at the 2351m altitude and making all the way back again to Casa da Montanha.
During this walk you can see the Cave-Shelter, a volcanic cavity with about 40m deep and a gallery that served as a shelter for hikers who ventured themselves on the mountain. Along the climb you can see natural habitats with rare endemic species, and the Pico Mountain the only place in the Azores which includes Alpine and Sub-Alpine habitats that face prolonged snow deposits.
The several geological formations that can be observed along the climb are of great importance, such as pyroclastic deposits, Lava Toes, ravines and lava tunnels, Hornitos, driblet-cones, plagioclase rosette and other geological formations. At 2050m altitude we can find a fossil crater and, on the summit, a crater-pit, the lava cone of Piquinho and an eruptive fissure.
