Grena Park Waterfalls

Parque da Grena / Lagoa das Furnas, Azores Region, Portugal

About Grena Park Waterfalls

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Grena Park Waterfalls (or Cascatas de Parque da Grená in Portugese) consist of at least 6 waterfalls on an unnamed seasonal stream passing right through the park.

Although Parque da Grená is adjacent to the Caldeira Lagoa das Furnas (known for lakeside recreation and thermal features), the former is in a separate, paid area.

Lagoa_das_Furnas_215_06232024 - One of the Grená Park Waterfalls - this one was Waterfall #4
One of the Grená Park Waterfalls – this one was Waterfall #4

This park was said to have opened in December 2019, but it was closed shortly thereafter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thus, it wasn’t until after the pandemic had passed that the park finally opened to the public.

That said, the land upon which the park existed had changed hands since 1832, when it was acquired by an English traveler, but was since developed by the British Consul of Ponta Delgada named Vines.

The consul named the property Grená after the name of his wife’s childhood family house in Ireland.

Lagoa_das_Furnas_126_06232024 - View of Lagoa das Furnas from a lookout high above Grená Park
View of Lagoa das Furnas from a lookout high above Grená Park

Anyways, the paid area means that in order to visit Parque da Grená, I had to pay an additional fee in order to get through the turnstile blocking entry into the park.

This turnstile was about a 200-250m walk from the main car park for the Caldeira Lagoa das Furnas on the northern side of the lake.

As of my visit in late June 2024, I paid 10 euros for a ticket (this is the per person rate), which can be a bit steep (despite the signage here suggesting this is “so cheap”).

Thus, I did this excursion on my own since my wife and daughter wasn’t really interested in doing this hike let alone spending another 20 euros for the privilege.

Grena_006_iPhone_06232024 - Looking up at the full height of the so-called English Leap Waterfall (Waterfall #1), which I suspect was named after the British Consul of Ponta Delgada
Looking up at the full height of the so-called English Leap Waterfall (Waterfall #1), which I suspect was named after the British Consul of Ponta Delgada

Anyways, Grená Park not only features waterfalls, but it also has views of the Lagoa das Furnas as well as some captive animals that I’m sure the families would enjoy.

Of the 6 numbered waterfalls in the park, Waterfall #1 is the uppermost one, and it’s called the “English Leap Falls” (also Poça da Inglesa or “English Well”).

I suspect the name of the falls has something to do with the British Consul who first developed this park.

It’s by far the tallest of the waterfalls (probably around 40-50m), but it does tend to have a light, wispy flow, especially in the Summer.

Grena_013_iPhone_06232024 - This was the full context of Waterfall #3, which had a spring and alcove next to an interesting sloping stranded cascade over what appeared to be a basalt bedrock surface
This was the full context of Waterfall #3, which had a spring and alcove next to an interesting sloping stranded cascade over what appeared to be a basalt bedrock surface

Other notable waterfalls that I’ve found to be most impressive involve Waterfalls #3, #4, and #6.

Waterfall #3 had a sloping rock surface with a spring and alcove next to it, and it required a bit of an uncomfortable rock scramble to get a good look at it.

Waterfall #4 had a nice 5-10m plunge with a bit more volume than the wispy English Leap Falls, and could very well be my favorite one in the park.

Waterfall #6 was a wide cascade easily seen from a wide footbridge that was well downstream of Waterfall #3, but it was possible to see both waterfalls from this bridge.

Lagoa_das_Furnas_188_06232024 - This was what the signs labeled as Waterfall #6, which was a wide cascade that was multi-stranded in its light flow as of late June 2024
This was what the signs labeled as Waterfall #6, which was a wide cascade that was multi-stranded in its light flow as of late June 2024

As for exploring all of the waterfalls in Parque da Grená, I managed to do it by hiking a counterclockwise loop that was about 2.5km long (including all the detours).

There’s actually a pretty extensive network of criss-crossing trails crossing the creek in several spots, which provided options for customizing this hike in countless ways.

There were map signs helping you locate where you are in the park, but there were also pamphlets and PDFs of the park to refer to if you need something with you while on the trail.

The trail conditions were well-maintained with railings and steps in the steepest parts, and the rough scrambling was pretty much kept to a minimum (I recalled only Waterfall #3 had one such rough scramble).

Lagoa_das_Furnas_245_06232024 - Looking down at one of the lower cascades beneath some swinging bridges and ladder steps within Grená Park
Looking down at one of the lower cascades beneath some swinging bridges and ladder steps within Grená Park

Since my focus was more on exploring all the waterfalls, I even backtracked to hit up the waterfalls that I missed earlier on (which might have increased the distance even more than for a typical visit).

Ultimately, I spent about 90 minutes within the Grená Park, but we also spent about an hour at Lagoa das Furnas, so we wound up spending about 2.5 hours away from the car.

Authorities

The Grena Park Waterfalls are located on the island of São Miguel of the Azores Autonomous Region of Portugal. It is privately managed by Feliz Terra, which is doing so under direction of the Azores Autonomous Region Government. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Grená Park website.

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Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.

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Tagged with: grena park, parque da grena, english leap, furnas, lagoa das furnas, sao miguel, acores, azores, portugal, loop hike



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About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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