8. Sanguinho Village

Sanguinho is a charming spot of São Miguel Island. It's an abandoned village belonging to the municipality of Faial da Terra that is currently being restored. In the picturesque village of Sanguinho, you'll find the houses of the 400 people who once lived there, with typical Azorean architecture, and, to top it off, an impressive panoramic view of Faial da Terra.

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So why was it abandoned? In the mid-20th century, Sanguinho lost its population due to emigration to the United States and Canada. Additionally, difficulties in access and the lack of amenities led to the total abandonment of this village progressively.

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Today, it has become another tourist attraction on the island, and some houses have been restored and turned into rural accommodations. Near Sanguinho, you'll find other relevant tourist attractions of the island, such as the Salto do Prego waterfall. In fact, it's very popular to hike the PRC09 SMI Trail, a route that passes through Salto do Prego and reaches Sanguinho.

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The PRC09 SMI Trail is a circular route of 4.5 km and is suitable for all kinds of people and for any time of the year, although it's classified as of medium difficulty. From our perspective, this classification is due to the incline, about 200m over a few kilometers, although we don't find it to be a tough or complicated route to undertake.

 

This trail starts in Faial da Terra. During the hike, you can see various fruit orchards on both sides of the stream, which belong to small family farms. As indicated in the information about the route from the linked source, it's requested that you please do not pick fruits from the plantations during the hike.

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