PR2 COR – Caldeirão (Vila do Corvo – Corvo), Hiking, Trekking, Walking Trails, Tracks, Pedestrian Routes, Portugal

We don’t need many words to describe “Caldeirão” (Cauldron) of Corvo Island. We can see why looking at the picture above.
On the third day on the island, the fog finally lifted and early morning we drive on the only access road to “Caldeirão” to hike the trail “PR2 COR – Caldeirão”. The crater with 3.7 kilometers in circumference and 300 m depth, locally known as “Caldeirão” is situated at the so-called “Monte Gordo”.

“Caldeirão” is available today to show us all its magnitude and his elusive harmony. It made it difficult in the first days but today gave us what we looked forward. We feel great here.

We don’t exactly hike the official trail described in tourist maps. With Luís from “The Pirates’ Nest” as our guide, we started to walk along the viewpoint of “Caldeirão”. In this initial section we went down towards the lagoon following the marks of the official trail. This section of the trail is lined with moss-covered hills where some dripping water makes a very muddy path. Be careful with it with and where you put your feet. At about 900m from the start, the official trail follows to the right but we took the path to the islets in the middle of the small lakes. What a delight to walk here. Wherever you look, the walls with shredded greens in different shades or streaked vertically by numerous watercourses, many already dry, made this scenario as something surreal, not of this world for sure. We can’t believe that we were there. After three days of a thick fog which didn’t allow us to glimpse more than two meters at this altitude, the patient waiting had been compensated.
We begin the ascent after the lagoon, hiking the crater wall to the top of “Ponta do Marco”. This is perhaps the most difficult section of the trail, perhaps because of the large slope or the kind of “false” terrain where we hardly progress without been covered with mud up to the knees. Literally.
Upon reaching the top we rested to replenish energy. The landscapes are hauntingly beautiful. The magnificence of “Caldeirão” or the fine edges of the walls that surround it and also the views to the sea of an intense blue and the dramatic cliffs with sharp edges.
As we freshened ourselves near a tuft of hydrangeas, we observed on the opposite side of the crater, on the south wall, the “Morro dos Homens” (Hill of Men), the point of highest elevation of the island with 718 m.
“Caldeirão” is available today to show us all its magnitude and his elusive harmony. It made it difficult in the first days but today gave us what we looked forward. We feel great here.
We began the slow descent down by the same track and on the lagoon we took left, walking along its banks following the signs of the official trail. The last climb to the belvedere was made at a snail’s pace, in fact I think I saw one overtake me… on the one hand the temperature was already high in this summer day, on the one hand I didn’t want to leave behind this postcard. I wanted to take it in my luggage, record it in my memory … from time to time I looked back and took a deep breath.
We have reached the point where we started walking and finished this hike with about 5km long. We went down to the village for lunch and in the afternoon we’re going to visit “Cara do Índio” (Indian’s Face).