After the briefing in the Aventour Base, we’ll leave to the starting point of the trail, accompanied by the responsible guide for the expedition. The trail begins in the Mountain of Topo, 700 m altitude, with a slight ascent to the summit, up to 850 meters altitude in the mountainous foothills of the Volcanic Complex of Topo, where the descent to Fajã do Sanguinhal begins. This route was used by the inhabitants to go for supplies to Ribeira Seca or Santo Antão. They didn’t do it often because the distance was long. That’s why people tried to take from the land a little bit of everything to be self-sufficient.
On this route we pass by a great diversity of endemic plants such as heather, cedar, beech and we can hopefully see wild goats that now populate the hillside. When we arrive to Ribeira da Fajã Redonda, we will stop for a snack and have a break to rest, surrounded by the "wilderness".
We’ll go through Fajã Redonda and the dairy place where we can still see the skimming machine. On reaching Fajã do Sanguinhal we have the feeling that time has stopped, involving us in the mysticism of the place.
After having lunch and recovering energy, we will explore Fajã do Sanguinhal. There are many houses in this place, completely abandoned, like sentinels guarding this piece of paradise. There it’s still possible to see some artifacts that people used in their day-to-day life. We will also have time to bathe in the crystalline waters of a river that ends up in a waterfall of 110 m height.
We’ll wait for the night in the camp, with a very inspiring as well as mythical dinner, accompanied by the sound of Cories and the sea. It will be, for sure, an unforgettable night, due to the surrounding environment and to the fact that you are in such place where once the houses were lit by lamps or by the fireplace in each room.
