Protected Areas

Located in the Cancela do Cinzeiro Forestry Park within the Special Protection Zone of Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme, Priolo Environmental Centre aims to preserve this small bird and its habitat. The priolo is Europe’s second rarest bird species, and also the most endangered, that can only be seen in the municipalities of Nordeste and Povoação, in the eastern part of the island of São Miguel.

Also functioning as a reception and welcome centre for this Special Protection Zone, the space was created by SPEA – the Portuguese Birdwatching Society – in collaboration with the Regional Directorate of Forestry Resources and the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and the Sea. The Environmental Centre is constituted by two buildings - where visitors will encounter interactive exhibitions concerning the local fauna and flora, a shop, a relaxation area, and a bar where it’s possible to have a drink or sample a regional speciality.

Outside the centre, Cinzeiro Forestry Park includes a plantation of native species and a small garden with endemic plants from the natural forest found in the Azores. Here, visitors may take part in the activities organised by the Environmental Centre or follow several pedestrian footpaths in order to identify existing species.