Furnas by 4x4: the Cozido Pits, Terra Nostra and Gorreana Tea

Three things on this route are not found together anywhere else. At Lagoa das Furnas, beside the fumaroles, the cozido is cooked in holes dug into ground heated by the volcano and left there for six or seven hours. You can see where it happens, and eat the result at a local restaurant, which is not included in the price. At the Terra Nostra Botanical Garden there is a thermal bath of iron-bearing water at around 39 °C (102 °F). The entrance fee is not included either. Chá Gorreana, on the north coast, is the oldest tea plantation in Europe and the only one still working. The stop takes in the shop, the factory, the museum and a cup of tea picked on the hill outside. The route runs along the south coast first, with a stop at Vila Franca do Campo, the first capital of São Miguel, and a viewpoint over the islet offshore, which is the rim of an old submarine eruption and now a natural swimming pool. The Castelo Branco viewpoint follows, looking into the Furnas caldera. Furnas village itself sits in a valley with fumaroles steaming between the houses and mineral water you can taste. Private, full day, in a 4x4. The meeting point is the Tourism Post Office on Avenida Infante Dom Henrique.