Discover
The island is the sea, its port of adventures, of departure, but also of arrival of the many adventurers who cross the Atlantic in order to discover the so-called “blue island”.
This is the third most populated island in the archipelago, with 14,994 residents (according to the 2011 census). Faial is part of the Central Group and corresponds to the westernmost island of the designated “triangle islands”, along with São Jorge and Pico, standing only 6 km away from the latter. The highest point on the island, at an altitude of 1043 m, is in Cabeço Gordo, in the Caldeira area
It has an airport with regular connections to the other islands as well as to the Portuguese mainland, although it is very common to arrive on the island by boat, either through the daily connections it has with the other islands of the “triangle”, or through the marina.
Horta, its city, is the island’s main urban centre and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Azores. The Horta marina, inaugurated in 1986, is one of the most famous harbours in the world. With the institution of the autonomous model of the Azores, the city of Horta became the seat of the Regional Parliament of the Azores and followed the regional economic changes.