São Miguel Natural Park

São Miguel Natural Park was created in 2008 and is one of the nine island natural parks that make up the Azores network of protected areas, run by the regional government. Rather than a single block of land, it brings together 23 protected areas on the island and in the sea around it, chosen to conserve the most representative parts of its biodiversity and volcanic geology.

They include two nature reserves, Lagoa do Fogo and Pico da Vara; three natural monuments, among them Caldeira Velha and the Gruta do Carvão cave; eleven areas managed for habitats or species; the protected landscapes of Sete Cidades and Furnas; and five resource management areas along the coast. Several are also geosites of the Azores UNESCO Global Geopark, Ramsar wetlands or Natura 2000 sites. The mountains around Pico da Vara are a Special Protection Area for birds and the home of the priolo, the Azores bullfinch.

The park has four centres for visitors: the Caldeira Velha Environmental Interpretation Centre, the Furnas Monitoring and Research Centre, the Pineapple Culture Interpretation Centre and the Lagoa das Sete Cidades Environmental Complex. Signposted walking trails cross several of the protected areas, from crater lakes and mountain ridges to coastal headlands.

The park's environmental service is based in Ponta Delgada, the island's main town, and the protected areas are spread across the whole island, so a visit usually combines several of them. Many of these areas are fragile, and visitors are asked to keep to the marked trails and viewpoints and to follow the rules set for each protected area.