From below, a cone above the pastures. 7,713 ft, the highest mountain in Portugal.
Above 1,200 m only with registration and a tracker. Then you climb through the clouds.
At the top, the Piquinho: 70 meters of lava, steaming cracks, 20 minutes to stay.
Scroll –
up through the clouds
The PRC4 PIC trail is open, the volcano is dormant (V0), and the Casa da Montanha is staffed around the clock until the end of September. What many travel sites get wrong: there is no general guide requirement. There is mandatory registration, a GPS tracker, fees, 320 places a day – and a €1,200 rescue flat rate for anyone who does not stick to the rules.
The only permitted route, 3.8 km (2.4 miles) and 1,150 m (3,770 ft) of climbing from the Casa da Montanha. No more than 320 people a day, 160 at a time, 30 on the Piquinho. Closed on orange or red IPMA weather warnings; advised against on yellow.
Registration, briefing, tracker issue. Staffed around the clock from 1 May to 30 September, in April and October 8 am–8 pm (continuously on weekends), from November to March 8 am–6 pm. Outside those hours only with a recognized mountain guide.
CIVISA lists no alert for Pico on 22 September 2026. Under the Faial–Pico channel there were two earthquake swarms at V1 in 2026 (April, May into summer); access to the mountain was never affected. Cracks on the Piquinho steam – sulfur, avoid if you have asthma.
Photo: Jules Verne Times Two · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Casa da Montanha stands at 1,200 m (3,940 ft) in a heath of juniper and lava. Usually the cloud hangs here. You sign, get the tracker strapped to your arm, listen to the briefing – and then you walk into the gray, post by post.
The trail is not a trail but a line of 47 wooden posts over earth, rock, scree and lava blocks. 3.8 km (2.4 miles), 1,150 m (3,770 ft) of climbing, three to four hours. At some point, usually between 1,500 and 1,800 m (4,900 and 5,900 ft), it gets bright: you step out of the top of the cloud, and below you lies a white sea with Faial and São Jorge sticking out of it.
The crater rim at 2,280 m (7,480 ft) is a ring of lava 500 m (1,640 ft) across. In its middle stands the Piquinho, a 70 m (230 ft) cone you scramble up on all fours. Warm sulfur steam rises from cracks. At the top Portugal ends – 2,351 m (7,713 ft), and nothing above but wind.
You may stay twenty minutes. Then comes the descent, which costs you your knees, and at the bottom the sign-out at the Casa. If you do not hand in the tracker, a search is started – and a search without cause costs €1,200.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. With an operator you pay the park only €5 + €5 instead of €15 + €10 – the rest is the guide. Whether it is clear at the top is up to the mountain.
Photo: Jules Verne Times Two · CC BY-SA 4.0
Since 2020 a regulation of the Azores government has governed access; it was tightened in 2023. It expressly allows an independent climb – but only under conditions you should know beforehand.
Reservation at servicos-sraa.azores.gov.pt/gamp, payment within 48 hours or the booking is cancelled. Everyone still has to appear in person at the Casa da Montanha – no later than 2 hours after the booked start time – sign the form and liability waiver and collect the GPS tracker. 90 % of places go online, the rest on site.
To the Furna Abrigo €5, full climb to the crater €15, Piquinho supplement €10, overnight in the crater €10. Through a licensed operator €2 / €5 / €5. Azores residents free. Optional €30 liability waiver for the tracker, otherwise up to €300 for loss or damage.
Within the Casa da Montanha's opening hours you may go alone. A recognized Guia da Montanha do Pico is mandatory when the Casa is closed (at night from October to April, on New Year's Day and Christmas Day) and for every commercial tour: one guide per 12 guests.
On orange or red IPMA warnings or a civil protection warning the mountain is closed; on yellow the climb is advised against. Anyone who goes anyway, leaves the trail or calls for help without cause and has to be rescued pays a flat €1,200 – first known to have been applied in July 2025. Fatigue does not count as a reason for rescue.
| Climb to the Furna Abrigo, on your own / through a licensed operator | €5 / €2 |
| Full climb to the crater, on your own / through an operator | €15 / €5 |
| Piquinho supplement (the actual summit), on your own / through an operator | €10 / €5 |
| Overnight-in-the-crater supplement, on your own · reservation at least 24 hours ahead, 32 people per night | €10 |
| Optional liability waiver for the GPS tracker · without it: up to €300 for loss or damage | €30 |
| Rescue after a rule violation, after a climb advised against, or requested without cause | €1,200 |
| Azores residents (proof: Cartão de Cidadão) | free |
| Atlânticoline ferry Horta–Madalena, one way / round trip (non-residents) | €8.20 / €16.40 |
There is only the PRC4 PIC trail. But you can walk it short, walk it whole – or stay the night.
| Short version to the Furna Abrigo – 1,000 m (0.6 miles) of trail from the Casa da Montanha to the lava cave that serves as a shelter; the family-friendly alternative | about 45 minutes · €5 |
| PRC4 PIC Montanha trail – Casa da Montanha (about 1,200 m / 3,940 ft) past 47 posts to the crater rim (about 2,280 m / 7,480 ft) and up the Piquinho (2,351 m / 7,713 ft); 3.8 km (2.4 miles), 1,150 m (3,770 ft) of climbing, 'not technical, but moderately to highly difficult'; start the descent no later than 4 hours before sunset | 3–4 hours each way · €15 + €10 |
| Overnight in the crater (Pernoita) – start between 4 pm and midnight (June–September) or 2 pm and midnight (October–May), tent and sleeping bag mandatory, descent after 8 am; sunrise from the Piquinho; outside the Casa's opening hours only with an operator and guide | one night · €15 + €10 (+ €10 Piquinho) |
Photo: Unukorno · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Pablosievert · CC BY-SA 4.0
Without a car: No public bus to the Casa da Montanha. On Pico, island buses run between Madalena, the airport and the main towns; to the Casa da Montanha (about 15 minutes' drive from Madalena via the EN3 and Caminho Florestal 9) you take a taxi, a rental car or a tour operator's transfer.
By car: From Madalena on the EN3 toward Lajes/São Roque uphill, turnoff to the Casa da Montanha signposted (Candelária, Caminho Florestal n.º 9). Car park at the Casa da Montanha; for night climbs leave nothing visible in the car.
May to September: Casa da Montanha staffed around the clock, longest days, most stable visibility, night and sunrise climbs possible without a guide; but July/August bring crowds up to the daily limit – book early and start early. April and October are quieter with often good weather, then mind the opening hours. From November to March there is often snow or ice on the summit (crampons mandatory), the Casa closes at 6 pm and storms close the mountain; then only with a guide and flexible planning. Basic rule: start early in the morning, begin the descent no later than four hours before sunset.
Photo: Franzfoto · CC BY-SA 3.0
At the foot of the mountain lies the vineyard landscape of black lava walls, World Heritage since 2004. If you do not want the summit or cannot do it, you have a day here – and if you want more, you stay up top overnight.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. The selection for Pico is small – these tours have few reviews.
Photo: Manuel Silveira · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Pedroemanuelp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Officially 'not technical, but moderately to highly difficult': 3.8 km (2.4 miles) with 1,150 m (3,770 ft) of climbing over earth, rock, scree and lava blocks, a scramble up the Piquinho at the top, 6–8 hours in total. If you regularly climb 3,000 ft, you will cope; the descent is hard on the knees.
The 70 m (230 ft) summit cone in the middle of the crater, the actual highest point at 2,351 m (7,713 ft). It costs a €10 supplement, holds 30 people at a time, and you may stay 20 minutes. Sulfur steam rises from cracks.
On closure or an express recommendation against climbing by the Casa da Montanha the fee is refunded in full (Art. 9 para. 4). A date can be changed online free of charge up to 2 hours before the start.
You get it at registration, wear it the whole way and return it after the descent – at the Casa or, outside its hours, at the Bombeiros in Madalena. It shows the rescue team your position. Loss or damage costs up to €300, a liability waiver €30.
By ferry from Horta on Faial to Madalena in 25–30 minutes (€8.20 one way) or by plane from Ponta Delgada (about 55 minutes) and seasonally from Lisbon. From Madalena to the Casa da Montanha 15–20 minutes by taxi or rental car; there is no public bus.
No, no spring and no shade. At least 1.5 liters per person are mandatory; without it you are turned away at the Casa da Montanha.
As of 22 September 2026 the trail is open; the CIVISA alert page shows no alert for Pico or the Faial–Pico channel (V0). The volcano has been quiet since 1720. The real dangers are weather changes, fog and the steep descent – hence registration, GPS trackers and closures on severe-weather warnings.
No, within the Casa da Montanha's opening hours you may go alone with registration, fee and tracker. A recognized mountain guide is mandatory only when the Casa da Montanha is closed (e.g. at night from October to April) or if you go through an operator.
On your own €15 to the crater plus €10 for the Piquinho, i.e. €25 to the very top; only to the Furna Abrigo €5. Through a licensed operator you pay the park only €5 + €5, plus the tour price. Azores residents are free. Optional €30 tracker liability waiver.
Not strictly, but strongly recommended: there are only 320 places per day, 90 % of them online via servicos-sraa.azores.gov.pt/gamp. Payment is due within 48 hours, and despite the reservation you have to register in person at the Casa da Montanha and collect the tracker.
Officially 3–4 hours each way up and down, so 6–8 hours for 3.8 km (2.4 miles) and 1,150 m (3,770 ft) of ascent. The descent must begin no later than four hours before sunset.
Allowed from age 5, up to 16 only with a parent or legal guardian and a declaration of responsibility. Realistically the summit is something for athletic children from about 10–12; for younger ones the 45-minute version to the Furna Abrigo is the option.
Mandatory: mountain boots or sturdy trekking shoes, mountain clothing, at least 1.5 l of water, food; a headlamp at night, crampons in snow, a tent and sleeping bag for an overnight stay. It is about 10 °C (18 °F) colder at the top than at the coast and there is no shade – pack a rain jacket, hat, gloves and sunscreen.
Yes. From May to September the Casa da Montanha is staffed around the clock, so it works without a guide then (lamp mandatory). In the other months the Casa is closed at night; then only licensed operators with a mountain guide may start, online reservation mandatory.
Yes, with a reservation at least 24 hours in advance, a tent and a sleeping bag; at most 32 people per night, €10 supplement. Any climb that starts between 4 pm and midnight in summer (winter 2 pm–midnight) and ends after 8 am the next day counts as an overnight stay.
The tracker shows the rescue team your position. Rescues for genuine injuries are free; but anyone who broke the rules, went despite being advised against it or calls for help without cause pays a flat €1,200 – as happened in July 2025. Fatigue does not count as a reason for rescue.
47 numbered wooden posts; the last one stands in the crater and points to the Piquinho. In fog: if you see no next post 30 minutes after one, go back to the last one. If you are stepping on plants, you have left the trail.
Sources · accessed on 22 September 2026
,_Pico_Island,_Azores,_Portugal_(PPL1-Corrected)_5_julesvernex2.jpg){kind=link}
,_Pico_Island,_Azores,_Portugal_(PPL1-Corrected)_3_julesvernex2.jpg){kind=link}
,_Pico_Island,_Azores,_Portugal_(PPL2-Enhanced)_julesvernex2.jpg){kind=link}
