Naturally heated, naturally sourced hot springs and swimming pools in abundance across the island. When I was invited for a press trip to the Azores with Ryanair I was excited and intrigued. I had heard of the archipelago in the Atlantic, that forms part of Portugal , but I knew very little about it. There is something that just feels far more thrilling and enjoyable when you take a dip in a natural swimming pool, compared to a typical man made pool. Many of the hot springs have been slightly man made, in that they have created areas to swim, but they are built into the natural rock.
However, it is natural volcanic water that runs through them and they are heated by the volcanoes the island is made of. We also visited Terceira island where they had lots of natural swimming pools and sea swimming locations too which I will share in another blog post. Caldeira Velha was the first hot spring we visited and set the tone for the rest of the press trip. These warm pools are located on the north side of the Fogo volcano.
This includes use of the changing rooms, toilets, pools and a visit to the interpretation centre. To get there you will need to drive or organise a tour that includes a stop here. Your ticket price includes parking too.
There are 3 different pools, with each one being slightly different temperatures. In the high season May 1st β September 30th it is open from 9am to 8. Terra Nostra Park is a beautiful private park, hotel and thermal pool. You can pick up a ticket as you enter and it lasts all day. There is a large thermal pool that is deep enough for swimming and ranges from degrees celsius.
It is orange due to the iron oxide and contact with oxygen. I wish we had one just like this in Matlock, though our local New Bath Lido will do. As well as the large orange pool, there are also two smaller pools, each naturally heated. One has a little shower within it and both have flowing water. I could have easily spent a whole afternoon here.
