Fajã da Ovelha

The sunset meeting point of the west coast: at about 600 m in the farming parish of Fajã da Ovelha, Raposeira overlooks the steep coastal slopes and watches the sun vanish behind the line of the ocean — locals and visitors come up for that moment. An almost aerial view of Paul do Mar, a fishing village, and, further on, of Prazeres, named after an old chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres, and of Jardim do Mar, an oasis for surfers.

The name says it all: this lookout in Fajã da Ovelha — a parish created in the 16th century, where one of the first settlers, Gonçalo Ferreira de Carvalho, owned land — stands at the top of a sheer cliff very close to the shore, on the ER 223 going down to Paul do Mar. Below, the magnificence of the Atlantic and the green mountains of the coast, and a unique view of Paul do Mar, an important fishing port and a surf spot renowned for the power of its swell, like its neighbour Jardim do Mar.

On the heights of Fajã da Ovelha, Massapez sweeps the west coast from Paul do Mar, a village with a centuries-old fishing tradition, to Jardim do Mar, where surfers from all over the world come for some of the best waves in Europe; on the mountain side you can pick out the Raposeira viewpoint (about 600 m) and the parish of Prazeres. The site has tables, benches and even a barbecue: a picnic lookout.

A historic west-coast lookout, created in 1936 at Fajã da Ovelha and still much visited: the breadth of the view strikes at once, between the vivid colours of the Atlantic and the green valleys of the coast. You see part of the parish — created in the mid-16th century — and, in the distance, the Ponta do Pargo lighthouse, at 290 m on the island's westernmost point. Benches invite you to sit.