Choose your favourite name. It can be Poço da Ribeira do Ferreiro, Lagoa das Patas or Poço da Alagoinha, the name is not really important. What is really important is to know that this is one of those must go locations in the Azores, mainly for someone visiting the island of Flores. The most common name is, in fact, Poço da Alagoinha, located in the Fajã Grande parish.

The denomination “Lagoa das Patas” comes from the amount of animals which can be found around here. Many say that this is a heavenly place. And that is a denomination which, although quite common when speaking about the Nature that can be found around the nine islands of the Azorean archipelago, in this particular case we can also say that it is a “mandatory” place to visit.

It is a pit having as its highlight a cliff giving birth to several waterfalls. In the surrounding area we can feel the immense strength of the vegetation, the perfect picture, imagined and painted to complement this truly Azorean wonder.

Poço da Alagoinha benefits also from being part of The Morro do Alto Forest Reserve Area, a protected area. Thanks to this protection, visitors of this area can bound with the idyllic image intituled “a true paradise of pristine nature”. Is this an overstatement? Is this only publicity to something that exists in many other islands all around the world?

It is unquestionable that other Nature wonders exist, but we dare the visitor to verify this particular one in person, using the eyes and all the other senses. These are numerous waterfalls in which the water keeps on falling. These are green mountains. This is a lagoon. We can maybe point out a failure to Mother Nature as it is not possible to dive in the lagoon. It is too swampy. Even so, despite that disadvantage, the show drew by an invisible supernatural entity – the belief is not important as long one believes that it is worth living – here is the place to get in harmony with life.

To get to Poço da Alagoinha the car must be left behind and the visitor has to walk an approximately 800 metres trail. Heads up: the trail is almost always up, but no one said that everything in life comes easily, it has to be earned. You can find accommodation in the region in one of the several sustainable housings.

Aldeia da Cuada is a suggestion. Morro do Alto Natural Reserve and Pico da Sé are other local references. Morro Alto is the highest point of the island and from there you can see Pico da Sé, an impressive construction of volcanic origin with two valleys sculpted by Ribeira da Badanela and Ribeira da Fazenda. The typical climate of the Atlantic originates a “fog prone area” with very strong winds and high precipitation. This results in a very rich peat vegetation (Sphagnum spp.) and Juniper forests (Juniperus brevifolia) giving this high zone a particular identity different from the rest of the island.

Visitors who have been here know that this is the ideal zone to contemplate, relax and meditate. Take photographs, relax and enjoy and keep the silence as this is, as you already know, gold!