Castelo Branco

Castelo Branco (“White Castle”) has to be one of the most easily overlooked destinations on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores. In fact, we only happened upon the castle by chance on our drive from Furnas to the Gorreana Tea Plantation. If you go to TripAdvisor, you’ll see that pretty much everyone finds this place by accident. While Castelo Branco is really more of a small tower than a true castle, it’s absolutely worth a quick pitstop to admire the views of the surrounding countryside.

Getting There

Castelo Branco is located on a small road that runs north-south between Route EN1-1A and EN4-2A. It is a 20 minute drive from Furnas or Villa Franca do Campo and a 35 minute drive from Ponta Delgada. You can easily find the castle using Google Maps, and the turn off of Route EN1-1A is clearly marked with a sign that reads “C. Branco”. The road that leads to the castle is narrow yet fairly well paved and meanders up the mountainside surrounded by cow pastures intermittently interrupted by thickly wooded areas. You will be able to see the castle from the main road, but you’ll have to drive up to the unofficial parking area on a small dirt road.

The Castle

Despite the name Castelo Branco, which translates from Portuguese to “White Castle”, Castelo Branco is neither white nor is it a castle. Nonetheless, it is an impressive site perched above the surrounding landscape and the views from the top are some of the best on the whole island. There was no information on when the structure was built or what purpose it served and we had no luck learning anything online. Given that Sao Miguel Island was originally settled by the Portuguese in 1444, we can say with 100% certainty that it was built sometime between 1444 and today; however, our elementary architectural knowledge would indicate that it is not nearly that old.

When we arrived, we were the only ones there and the gate to the castle was wide open, although we’ve read that this is not always the case.

The interior stairs lead to a small, dingy room on the inside of the tower with a window on each side.

The stairs continue to the top of the tower and the views from the top are incredible. You can see the Atlantic Ocean to the South and on a clear day (as you can see it was not a clear day when we visited) you can catch a glimpse of Santa Maria Island. The tower overlooks Lagoa das Furnas as well as the village of Furnas to the east, and the landscape in all other directions is a mix of rolling green hills and dense pine forests. This is one of the best vantage points to be able to fully appreciate the unique terrain of the Azores.

While you don’t need to block off much time to visit Castelo Branco, it is absolutely worth a visit if you plan on spending time on the east side of the island which we would argue is the better side of the island anyway.