If you could imagine a perfectly beautiful landscape and bring it to life, this would be it. The waterfalls, the stone structures, the paths, the canyon, the trees - it is an amazing sight. It is not just a viewpoint, however - you can spend a couple of hours here walking the trails if you like.

This place was such a surprise! There are so many beautiful natural places to visit in Sao Miguel, and this is one of them. It's free to enter and there is a cafe and gift shop on site. We didn't visit the entire park, but strolled by the lovely waterfalls and the trail beyond, then to the other side, past the gift shop. There is a picnic area there. I was amazed with the beauty of Sao Miguel, let alone how well-maintained their free public areas are. Allow at least 30 minutes to an hour - you can spend half day, especially if you bring a picnic lunch like we did.

This park is rarely, if ever, on lists of top 10 things to do on Sao Miguel, and I think it's criminally underrated. The park, which charges no admission fee, is a beautiful terraced landscape with waterfalls, hiking trails, and lots of gorgeous hydrangeas. We visited as part of a drive along the island's northern coast, and it surely didn't disappoint.

The Natural Park of Ribeira dos Caldeirões is located on the slopes of Serra da Tronqueira and occupies a part of the water stream of Ribeira do Guilherme. The natural park is a protected area due to the large expanse of varying vegetation within the park. It is based around a former historic small village that housed five watermills dating from the XVI century, all of which are still here. Some of them are still functional but the majority now have other uses such as housing the craft shop and the tourist office and containing several information boards on the Acores and the Nordeste region in particular. For those who want to explore there are several walking trails and the hike through the woods (along the stream) is a particularly good one. However, for those on limited time then an explore of the park’s waterfalls will take in most of it. There are several dotted about but three main ones, one of which the one beyond the tourist information centre is man made, but the two closer to the bridge are more natural. The park is also utilised for adventure sports and canyoning and canoeing in its waters is very popular. We were able to watch a group of people on a canyoning trip jumping off the cliff into the water plunge pool below.