ZIimbralinho Beach & Miradouro Flores Viewpoint Hike, Porto Santo

On the east coast of Porto Santo Island, the hike to Zimbralinho Beach and Miradouro Flores Viewpoint is a great coastal trail for sunset views. Most of the trail can be completed by car or motorbike along the roads but it’s a short coastal trail, which is great for hiking and enjoying the views. Because it faces east, you can expect beautiful lighting and colors in the sky at sunset!

HOW TO GET TO THE TRAILHEAD

I was staying at Vila Baleira, so I actually began my hike from there. However, the route (which is listed as an official route on the AllTrails app) began at the turn-off from the main road. The road you need to turn right onto is Est. Cmdt. José de Castro Vasconcelos. Once you are on this road, you simply follow the trail all the way up the hill until you reach an intersection. It’s kind of like a fork, you always return to this intersection no matter which of the viewpoints you are visiting from this intersection. To get an overview of the map, you can view it on AllTrails or on my Strava upload, which I linked above.

MY EXPERIENCE ON THE ZIMBRALINHO BEACH AND MIRADOURO FLORES VIEWPOINT HIKE

The hike ‘officially’ begins at the main road but in reality, you can drive almost the entire route of this hike so you can actually start wherever you feel. I like the workout so we started at the bottom of the hill and followed the map route provided on the AllTrails app. The first part of the hike is essentially a 100-meter climb up the road, with Pico Ana Ferreira creating a picturesque backdrop.

The hike continues up the paved road until you reach the main intersection of the route. I called this hike the ‘fork route’ because you always return back to the intersection after visiting the viewpoints. The best way to do this hike is to first visit Zimbralinho Beach and then return to the intersection and visit Miradouro Flores Viewpoint second. This means you can finish the hike with sunset at the viewpoint. The walk down to Zimbralinhos Beach can be done in a car as well but the trail is rough gravel and down a steep hill so it’s better to walk this section.

Zimbralinho Beach is a pretty crazy inlet on the west coast and is one of the prettiest beaches in Porto Santo. This section of the coastline takes the brunt of all the waves and wind that hit the island so it is very jagged and rugged. This also makes it prone to landslides, which meant it was closed to reaching the shoreline but it’s still nice to come and view the coastline from the little viewpoint.

After Zimbralinho beach, you will return back to the intersection and then make a loop of Miradouro das Flores and Cabeco do Zimbralinho. The walk along the coast was unbelievably windy but we had pretty great views of the nearby island called Ilhéu de Baixo ou da Cal.

We arrived at Miradouro Flores about half an hour before sunset, which was perfect timing. The cliffs were gleaming and we could take in the views before the sun would put on its nightly show. At the viewpoint, a nice wooden railing lines the entire perimeter with several levels of viewing. It’s a perfect spot that you can drive to for sunset. You have views back down the island to the east and, of course, a direct view of the sun setting over the ocean to the west.

On the night we visited, there was a storm brewing right in front of the sun, which created some crazy light rays through the clouds. In the other direction, the clouds were being strung out by the wind creating formations I’d never seen before!

We then made our way back down the hill to our starting point. Along the way, we picked up a couple of bags of trash. There seemed to be a lot of bottles and household items scattered in this part of the island.

ADVENTURE BAG FROM THE ZIMBRALINHO BEACH AND MIRADOURO FLORES VIEWPOINT HIKE

This is an adventure bag. It is full of trash. Every time I go on an adventure I collect one adventure bag full of trash. It’s my small way of saying thanks to mother nature for allowing me to enjoy her beautiful creations. If we have time to go on an adventure we have time to collect an adventure bag on the way back out of the trail once we have enjoyed the waterfall, the hike, or the beach. Adventure hard!

Tag your Adventure Bag on Instagram and mention @adventurebagcrew in your Instagram stories and we will repost your Adventure Bag photo to help inspire your friends, family, and followers to join the movement!

I hope you enjoyed this guide about the Zimbralinho Beach & Miradouro Flores Viewpoint hike on Porto Santo Island. Happy hiking!